Anaheim 1, Calgary 0
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees:
Tim Peel, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
19289
By The Sports Xchange
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Anaheim Ducks executed their game plan to perfection against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Goaltender John Gibson stopped all 14 shots he faced to backstop the Ducks to a 1-0 win over the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"We had a game plan to try to clog up the neutral zone and kind of slow them down," said Gibson, who recorded his third shutout of the season and the fifth of his NHL career. "We did a pretty good job of it tonight."
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau praised his team for putting in a strong defensive effort from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer.
"For our team to do that for 60 minutes, I thought was great," said Boudreau. "Usually you can do it for a little bit and you don't keep it up, but I thought everybody was focused and we controlled the neutral zone."
Center Shawn Horcoff scored the lone goal of the game for the Ducks (14-15-6), who have won two straight games and have gone 3-1-1 in their past five to get back into playoff contention in the NHL's Western Conference.
"It was a hard-fought game, but they just clogged up the neutral zone the entire game," said Flames defenseman and captain Mark Giordano. "It was tough to generate much on both sides. I thought we got a few good looks, but for the most part there wasn't many scoring chances."
Making his seventh straight start in net for the Flames (17-17-6), goalie Karri Ramo stopped 20 of 21 shots he faced to keep Calgary in the game.
Coming into the game, the Flames won two in a row, including a 5-3 decision over the Edmonton Oilers at the Saddledome, which was their 11th straight win on home ice to set a franchise record.
"For a team, again, that had a franchise-record 11 wins in a row, you knew they weren't going to take anything lightly," said Boudreau. "We had to battle as hard as we could to get this game."
Ramo had to be sharp in the game's first minute as he made a pad save to stop a backhand shot from in close by Ducks left winger Carl Hagelin.
Left winger Johnny Gaudreau had the first good chance of the game for the Flames three minutes into the first, but Gibson stood his ground to stop a wrist shot labelled for the top corner.
Anaheim center Ryan Kesler then had a great chance to get the Ducks on the board when he intercepted a pass by Giordano right in front of the Calgary net, but Ramo made another nice pad save to deny the scoring attempt.
After outshooting the Flames 6-4 in the opening frame, the Ducks increased that margin to 11-3 in the second period and were rewarded when Horcoff opened the scoring at 12:36 when he one-timed a pass from center Rickard Rakell past Ramo.
"We got involved in a festival of turnovers," said Flames coach Bob Hartley. "Part of the credit has to go to the Ducks, but we mismanaged the puck and we basically spent the entire (second) period in our zone."
Forward Sam Bennett had a great chance to pull the Flames even just past the mid-way mark of the third period, but his wrist shot glanced off the crossbar behind Gibson and out of play. Bennett had another chance later in the third, but Gibson stopped his shot from a bad angle before falling on the puck before it crossed the goal line.
"I think it got caught in my pants," said Gibson. "I just didn't know where it was, so I was just being a little extra careful. It's just one of those things where I just want to make sure it doesn't go over."
NOTES: Looking to add more size against the Ducks, Flames coach Bob Hartley inserted LW Brandon Bollig into the lineup on Tuesday in place of LW Mason Raymond. ... Calgary's other scratches were C Josh Jooris and D Ladislav Smid. ... Ducks D Cam Fowler was placed on injured reserve on Monday a day after spraining his right knee during the first period of Anaheim's 4-2 win at home over the Philadelphia Flyers. ... Also on Monday, the Ducks recalled D Shea Theodore from the AHL's San Diego Gulls. Theodore made his NHL debut against the Flames. ... Anaheim's scratches were RW Chris Stewart and D Korbinian Holzer. ... The Flames will finish up their four-game homestand with a tough test against the Pacific Division-leading L.A. Kings on New Year's Eve. ... The Ducks will continue their road trip through western Canada with games against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Vancouver Canucks the next night.
Top Game Performances
Anaheim |
|
Calgary |
Shawn Horcoff 1 |
Points |
N/A |
Shawn Horcoff 1 |
Goals |
N/A |
Hampus Lindholm 1 |
Assists |
N/A |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
John Gibson 1.000 |
Save Percentage |
Karri Ramo .952 |
John Gibson 14 |
Saves |
Karri Ramo 20 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Anaheim
|
21 |
1 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
25 |
18 |
Calgary
|
14 |
0 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
13 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
Calgary will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Flames have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .421 after a loss.
-
Anaheim will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Ducks have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .429 after a loss.