Flames at Ducks
The Pacific Division remains up for grabs and the Anaheim Ducks have a chance to leapfrog the Los Angeles Kings for first place with a victory over the visiting Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Anaheim is opening a four-game homestand against a team it has completely owned, winning 22 straight regular-season matchups versus Calgary at the Honda Center.
The Ducks, who own a 23-9-5 record at home, have won all four meetings this season against the Flames, including a pair of victories in a seven-day span in February. Anaheim won its last two contests to cap a 3-1-1 road trip and move within one point of Los Angeles with a game in hand. “We just wanted to finish off on a good note," Ducks goaltender John Gibson said after Monday's 2-1 win at Edmonton. "But I think in general, we wanted to keep playing the right way heading into playoffs.” Calgary, which kicked off a four-game road trip with a 6-3 win at Arizona on Monday, is seeking its first victory at Honda Center since Jan. 19, 2004.
TV: 10 p.m. ET; Sportsnet (Calgary), FSN West (Anaheim), NHL-TV
ABOUT THE FLAMES (32-38-6): Rookie center Sam Bennett finally snapped an 18-game goalless drought by scoring twice on Monday to help fill the void left by the absence of leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau to injury. “When you finally do get a bounce, it’s a great feeling and I think it just builds my confidence even more,” Bennett said. “Nobody likes going through funks like that. It can get frustrating at times, and it is nice to be able to pot a couple.” Forward Michael Frolik exited in the third period with a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (42-23-10): Coach Bruce Boudreau has been alternating Gibson and Frederik Andersen for two starts apiece and neither netminder is gaining much separation with the playoffs approaching. "They’ve had two ordinary games in the last 40 and that was the Toronto game for Freddie and the Montreal game for Gibby," Boudreau said. "Other than that, they’ve been outstanding. It’s very nice when you know you have that at the back end, when you make mistakes and you can recover from that.” Forward Brandon Pirri has two goals and two assists in his last four games.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has 46 points in 42 games versus Calgary.
2. Flames G Joni Ortio, who has allowed eight goals in three appearances versus Anaheim, will get the nod Wednesday.
3. Ducks F Jamie McGinn has seven goals and 10 points in 14 points since he was acquired from Buffalo.