Ducks 4, Flames 2
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Anaheim Ducks took a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Calgary Flames with a 4-2 win in Game 4 Friday night.
Wingers Jakob Silfverberg and Matt Beleskey scored power-play goals, and center Andrew Cogliano and winger Patrick Maroon also scored goals for Anaheim while goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 25 of 27 shots.
Center Sean Monahan and winger Micheal Ferland scored first-period goals for Calgary and goalie Karri Ramo made 25 saves in the loss.
The Flames were protecting a one-goal advantage late in the second period, but a rare defensive lapse from rookie Johnny Gaudreau led to the tying goal by Cogliano, who picked Gaudreau's pocket in front of the net and slid the puck under Ramo with 3:18 to go in the period.
Silfverberg opened the scoring 3:58 into the game with a long shot that stunned Ramo and found its way into the top shelf on the glove side. Making a rush up the right side, Silfverberg got his shot off just as Flames defenseman TJ Brodie put his stick in the lane. The slight touch of the puck was enough to handcuff Ramo.
Gaudreau, the regulation hero who tied Game 3, didn't wait as long to make an impact in Game 4 and helped tie the score 39 seconds after the Silfverberg goal.
Gaudreau faked an attempt inside to split defensemen Francois Beauchemin and Hampus Lindholm, then pulled the puck around the latter and cut back into the middle in front of Andersen, who rejected the attempt with his right pad. But Monahan was on the doorstep and quickly flipped the puck into the top of the net to tie the score at 1.
Ferland, who missed the previous two games with an undisclosed injury, made the most of his return to the series and gave Calgary the lead just 67 seconds later when he scooped up a loose puck at the blue line and unleashed a huge slap shot from the faceoff circle to Andersen's right. Ferland's blast went just over Andersen's right pad and under the blocker.
As the buzzer sounded to end the second period, Flames winger Joe Colborne got his stick up high on Beauchemin while finishing a check and cut the Ducks defenseman, giving Anaheim a four-minute man-advantage to start the third.
Making the Flames pay for the carelessness was Beleskey, who has now scored in every game of the series. He jumped on a rebound from a Silfverberg shot and ripped it past Ramo to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead 1:11 into the third period.
Maroon scored into an empty net to round out the scoring.
NOTES: Flames LW Lance Bouma participated in his second straight full practice Friday and dressed for an NHL playoff game for the first time. He suffered a hand injury on April 7 during the regular season. Bouma's presence left rookie C Markus Granlund as a healthy scratch. ... Ducks LW Emerson Etem was replaced in the lineup by veteran LW Tomas Fleischmann, who had an assist in the final two games of the first-round sweep of the Winnipeg Jets but didn't dress for the first three games against the Flames. The addition of Fleischmann bumped LW Kyle Palmieri to the fourth line with C Nate Thompson and RW Tim Jackman. ... Ducks G John Gibson returned to the bench to back up starting G Frederik Andersen after missing the last game with the flu. G Jason LaBarbera, a Calgary product, returned to his spot as third in line.