Ducks Rally, But Still Fall Short To Flames

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the Calgary Flames. Ville Husso was in net against Devin Cooley. Anaheim was again without Cutter Gauthier, Radko Gudas, and Pavel Mintyukov.

Beckett Sennecke got the Ducks on the board first just over the halfway point of the first period. He broke in between two Flames players, got turned around and backhanded the puck into the net all in one motion.

Joel Farabee answered for the Flames a few minutes later. He scored on the breakaway to tie the game up. It was 1-1 after the first period.

Ryan Strome scored in the opening minutes of the second period to make it 2-1 Flames. He got behind the Anaheim defense and scored in close beating Husso glove side.

Matvei Gridin then made it 3-1 a few minutes later. He scored on a 2-on-1 rush when he tapped in a pass from Farabee.

Towards the end of the period Morgan Frost scored on a breakaway to make it 4-1 at the end of the second period.

The Ducks scored twice in the third period to pull them within one goal. Leo Carlsson scored on a rush. He took a shot which was blocked, but the puck came back to him and he shot the rebound into the net.

Mason McTavish scored on the power play a few minutes later. He took a point shot that made its way through traffic and into the back of the net.

The Ducks pulled Husso in the final minutes, but the Flames scored in the empty net and won 5-3.

Analysis:

For the second game in a row the Ducks were able to score first, but still found a way to lose. The Flames tied the game in the first period and scored three times in the second period to build a 4-1 lead to start the third period. The Ducks did fight back scoring twice in the third, but an empty net goal sealed the deal for Calgary.

The defensive miscues continue to plague this team. The Flames scored most of their goals on breakaways or rush chances. The Ducks are giving up on average almost five goals a game during this losing streak. Opponents have scored 24 times on Anaheim in the last five games.

With Gudas and Mintyukov being out, the Ducks did call up Tyson Hinds and he had a solid NHL debut. He played over 23 minutes during five-on-five play. He had 10 shot attempts and four shots on goal. While he was on ice, the Ducks outshot the Flames 16 to 5. He was active in all areas of the game. He was taking shots and he also had one blocked shot and a hit.

Some other names missing from the lineup, who don’t get mentioned often, are Jansen Harkins and Ross Johnston. They both are not scoring threats by any means, but they play solid defense as bottom six forwards. Harkins had won 51.4% of his face-offs this season. Johnston has a career high 11 assists which has been an added bonus for him. He also delivers the big hits when necessary. Harkins is out the rest of the season after hand surgery. Johnston should return sometime this month.

The Ducks need to figure out a way to win despite missing five players from the lineup. The overall team defense has been very shaky during this losing streak. Anaheim also needs to tighten up their passing game and limit their turnovers. The Ducks were able to keep the Flames to just 20 shots on goal, but they gave up 13 high danger or quality scoring chances.

The Edmonton Oilers did also lose last night, so the Ducks are still tied with them in terms of points for first place. The Oilers do hold the tie breaker advantage with more regulation wins. Vegas is one point behind both teams. It’s going to be a wild finish in the Pacific Division.

Team Notes/Stats:

Sennecke leads all rookies in scoring with 23 goals.

Sennecke tied Trevor Zegras ( 23 goals in 2021-22) for third highest single-season goal total by a rookie in team history.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Nashville Predators Tuesday at 7 PM.

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April 5th, 2026