Anaheim Ducks knock Calgary Flames out of playoff race 5-4 in overtime – NHL update
The Western Conference was shaken up once again on Saturday after two of the top eight teams including the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars were knocked out of the playoff race. Anaheim cruised to victory in an overtime thriller at the Honda Centre in Anaheim,
California 5-4 against the Flames.
The Flames took control of the match near the end as Captain Jarome Iginla scored the tie-breaking goal during a power play, taking the lead 4-3. The goal just wasn’t enough to stop the menacing Ducks from forcing the match into OT during the closing minutes.
"We had a decent start, and then it just seemed like our brain went dead, our legs went dead, and everything else wend dead for a period," Anaheim Coach Carlyle said. "Our guys showed a lot of resilience to reach back and get more. They deserve all the credit
in the world."
Anaheim got a first high scoring period, when Ryan Getzlaf opened up the match off a sideline pass from Corey Perry who himself got the second 2:18 later which was assisted by Getzlaf. Teemu Selanne picked up his second assist nearly two minutes later, firing
one to Francois Beauchemin who redirected it through Miikka Kirpusoff, making it 3-0 in the opening five minutes.
Kiprusoff was called back in by Coach Brent Sutter after he let 3-of-5 shots slip in and he was replaced by Henrik Karlsson who was able to block 26 attempts during the rest of the game, only letting Selanne’s and Perry’s go through.
Tom Kostopoulos closed off the first period, scoring a goal for Calgary and decreasing the lead by one, which was better than nothing at all and it seemed to ignite the Flames. They came back in the second to score another two goals as Rene Bourque and Kostopoulos
scored their second to tie the match with a little over a minute remaining.
Captain Iginla inaugurated the final period, who was rejected a little earlier on a breakaway by goalie Dan Ellis, this time he fired it from the left circle extending their score 4-3 just in time. Selanne answered back in the final two minutes as he took
advantage of a Bourque sponsored power play, forcing the match into OT.
"Even when we were down, we still believed that we would come back and win the game," Selanne said after saving the match for the Ducks. "I'd prefer that we didn't put ourselves in that situation too many times, but it doesn't really matter how you win these
games. You need those two points."
Corey Perry got a first time overtime goal in his six-year career, earning Getzlaf his third assist of the night. He scored his 39th of the season to seal a 13th consecutive win over Calgary at home, the longest against any team in
franchise history.
The Flames fell to 10th place following their loss. The Western Conference is jam packed and they are only below the fifth placed Chicago Blackhawks by merely two points with 84. They face the sixth placed Los Angeles Kings on Monday as part of
their four-game road trip.
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