Third-period surge carries Ducks past Flames
CALGARY, Alberta -- Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell scored third-period goals to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Silfverberg fired a shot into the top corner, past Calgary goalie Chad Johnson's blocker, at 5:37 of the third before Rakell notched Anaheim's second power-play goal of the game at 8:30.
It was the third game-winning goal of the season for Silfverberg to tie him for the team lead in that category with Rakell and Cam Fowler. He was playing in his 300th NHL game.
Antoine Vermette had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (18-12-7), while Ryan Kesler chipped in with two assists.
Goalie John Gibson made 31 saves as the Ducks avenged an 8-3 loss in Calgary on Dec. 4.
Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames (19-17-2), who had won two games in a row and three of their previous four.
Johnson, who finished with 22 saves, lost his fourth straight start after reeling off six wins in a row from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10.
After a slow start by both teams, Gibson stood his ground to stop a slap shot by Michael Frolik just past the eight-minute mark of the first period. Gibson also made a nice save to deny a scoring chance by Sean Monahan from the slot.
Backlund scored the lone goal of the first at 11:09 when he took a pass from Matthew Tkachuk and sped into the Anaheim zone past defenseman Kevin Bieksa and center Ryan Getzlaf before tucking a shot through Gibson's five-hole.
The Ducks drew even with a power-play goal at 6:16 of the second by Vermette, who tapped a nice feed from Corey Perry past Johnson. After redirecting Kevin Bieksa's point shot on net, Perry worked hard to find the rebound in the crease and backhanded a pass through his legs to Vermette at the side of the net.
The Flames had a great chance to retake the lead late in the second during another Anaheim power play when Alex Chiasson intercepted a pass at his own blue line and broke into the Anaheim zone on a two-on-zero with Sam Bennett. Chiasson and Bennett passed the puck back and forth before Bennett finally took a shot that hit the outside of the net.
After Silfverberg gave the Ducks the lead in the third, Rakell added an insurance marker when he tapped a loose puck just outside the crease past Johnson.
NOTES: Due to illness, D Sami Vatanen didn't travel to Calgary with the Ducks and missed his second straight game. ... The Ducks recalled D Brandon Montour from the AHL's San Diego Gulls on Tuesday. Montour suited up for his first NHL game on Thursday on the one-year anniversary of D Shea Theodore's NHL debut, also in Calgary on Dec. 29, 2015. Theodore was Anaheim's lone healthy scratch. The Ducks assigned RW Stefan Noesen to San Diego on Thursday. Flames RW Troy Brouwer missed his second straight game as a result of a broken finger he suffered during a 4-1 win at home over the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 23. Brouwer underwent surgery on his finger earlier this week and will be out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis. Flames D Dougie Hamilton (illness) missed his first game of the season, while his older brother C Freddie Hamilton was a healthy scratch.