Ducks 3, Flames 2 (OT)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Bruce Boudreau and the Anaheim Ducks have finally broken through to the Western Conference finals.
They defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 in overtime Sunday at Honda Center, sending Boudreau to the third round for the first time in his career and the Ducks back to that stage for the first time since their Stanley Cup season in 2007.
Right winger Corey Perry swiped home the game-winner 2:36 into overtime during a goalmouth scramble, the likes of which the Ducks generated repeatedly in the late stages of the game. They had all seven shots on goal in overtime.
Center Ryan Kesler and left winger Matt Beleskey also scored for Anaheim. Right winger Jiri Hudler and left winger Johnny Gaudreau tallied for Calgary.
Anaheim netminder Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots while his relatively overworked counterpart Karri Ramo made 45 saves.
Calgary struck first during a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Kesler. Defenseman Dennis Wideman faked a shot before dropping the puck to Hudler, who glided into the left faceoff circle to launch a slap shot past Andersen on the short side 10:43 into the game.
Kesler atoned for his penalty with a power-play goal of his own. He one-timed right winger Jakob Silfverberg's pass for an equalizer 4:59 into the second period.
A mere 56 seconds later, Calgary answered when a loose puck squirted out to Gaudreau between the circles. He smoked a wrist shot over Andersen's glove to regain the lead.
With 4:11 left in the second period, Calgary center Matt Stajan delivered a check to Anaheim's Corey Perry that sent the right winger off the ice in pain and immediately down the tunnel to the Ducks locker room. No penalty was assessed to Stajan and the teams skated four-on-four after the resultant skirmish.
Anaheim would create an extended goalmouth scramble late in the period, but headed into the second intermission trailing 2-1.
The Ducks began the third period with fresh ice and a full two minutes of power-play time. They capitalized as defenseman Francois Beauchemin's slap shot was redirected in by Beleskey 59 seconds into the final frame. Beleskey nearly ended the game on a breakaway in overtime but his backhander was turned away by Ramo.
Anaheim had outshot Calgary 26-14 through 40 minutes, an advantage that they extended by registering 10 unanswered shots on goal during a stretch of the third period.
The two teams traded chances during the final gasps of regulation, but 60 minutes could not settle this contest.
NOTES: The Flames were without their captain D Mark Giordano (bicep), D Ladislav Smid (neck) and C Paul Byron (lower body). ... Calgary LW Michael Ferland (upper-body), RW Jiri Hudler (lower body) and C Lance Bouma (lower body) continued to play through injuries, all dressing Sunday. ... Neither team made any lineup changes from Game 4. ... Ducks LW Matt Beleskey scored a goal in each of the five games in the series, which gives him a franchise-record playoff goal streak.