Ducks at Flames
The Pacific Division has been quite competitive thus far this season, with six of the seven teams separated by only seven points — and the Calgary Flames are right in the mix. Calgary attempts to remain in the thick of things and complete its three-game homestand with a perfect record when it hosts the division-rival Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
The Flames, who enter the matchup occupying fifth place in the Pacific while having played the highest amount of games in the division, began their string at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday with a 3-0 triumph over Toronto and outlasted Minnesota 3-2 in a shootout two nights later after winning only three of their first 10 at home. Anaheim is wrapping up a three-game road trip that it started with a triumph in Vancouver on Thursday and followed up with an overtime loss at Edmonton two nights later. Captain Ryan Getzlaf notched a pair of assists Saturday to increase his team-leading point total to 21 and give him five in his last four games. Getzlaf and Corey Perry each recorded three assists while Ryan Kesler scored two goals in a 4-1 home victory over Calgary on Nov. 6.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSN West (Anaheim), Sportsnet West, Sportsnet360 (Calgary)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (12-8-5): Cam Fowler recorded an assist Saturday to extend his point streak to three games. It was the 89th career power-play point for the 24-year-old, moving him past Frederik Olausson for third place on the franchise list among defensemen and within five of tying Chris Pronger for second. Rickard Rakell has scored a team-high 10 goals in 16 games this season — half of the total he recorded in 72 contests last campaign.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (12-13-2): A demotion to the fourth line apparently lit a fire under Sean Monahan, who made the move a short-lived one — 40 minutes, to be exact — and enters Sunday with a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists) after being kept off the scoresheet in eight of his previous nine contests. "I think the games before (the demotion) I was just thinking too much," the 22-year-old told the team's website. "When you're trying to do too much, that's usually when you aren't going to get anything done. When you keep it simple and play with that confidence and you're having fun out there, that's when goood things are happening." Chad Johnson has been one of the main reasons Calgary hasn't sunk to the bottom of the Pacific, winning seven of his last nine starts while posting three shutouts in that span.
OVERTIME
1. Flames RW Michael Frolik is tied for the team lead with six goals but enters Sunday with a nine-game drought.
2. Anaheim had won each of its first five games against Canadian teams this season before Saturday's setback.
3. Calgary is last in the league in power-play percentage (10.7) and is a dismal 2-for-44 with the man advantage at home.