Flames' offence falters in loss to Ducks
Anaheim peppers Mike Smith with 41 shots
The Ducks put 41 shots on goal, and Rickard Rakell put them over the top in one of their best efforts of the season.
Rakell scored in his fourth straight game and got his 12th of the season to help Anaheim beat the visiting Calgary Flames 2-1 on Friday night.
The Ducks have won three of four following a three-game skid and 26 of 27 at home against Calgary. John Gibson made 22 saves and Cam Fowler also scored for the Ducks.
"We've been doing a good job lately of getting off to good starts, but then we seem to kind of take our foot off the gas and let teams back in the hockey game," Fowler said. "They made their push in the second, but we were able to stick with it and I thought it was one of our most complete games all year."
Mike Smith stopped 39 shots and Micheal Ferland got his 15th goal, but Calgary lost its third straight.
Fowler opened the scoring 3:48 into the game when he fired a backhander past an outstretched Smith. Anaheim surged that period with 20 shots on goal, holding the Flames to just five.
"We weren't ready to complete in a hard game and that's a step our team needs to take," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said.
The Flames tied it 11:55 into the second period when Ferland buried a rebound off Matt Bartkowski's shot. Calgary outshot the Ducks 11-8 in that frame to get back into the game after the lacklustre first.
"I thought we won the second, that's for sure. It wasn't the start we were looking for by any means. I think we were tentative, nervous, I don't know what the word is for it but we weren't doing anything well in the first," Smith said. "I thought we responded well in the second, got a big goal there. It was a tight game."
The Ducks re-established their game in the third when Rakell made it 2-1 with a power-play one-timer from Ryan Getzlaf 2:17 in.
Anaheim had 13 shots on goal in the third to Calgary's seven.
"We built throughout the game," Getzlaf said. "I thought the second period was a little bit of a lull for us, but to give them credit they came pretty hard in that second period at the start and we handled it and kept going and that's what we need to do."
Comments
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.