Anaheim 3, Calgary 0
When: 10:00 PM ET, Sunday, May 3, 2015
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Referees:
Wes McCauley, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Derek Nansen
Attendance:
17299
By The Sports Xchange
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It has taken three comebacks, a blowout and the circumvention of a determined goalie, but the Anaheim Ducks have had the only perfect postseason in the NHL this year.
They defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0 Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven, second-round series, which shifts to Calgary Tuesday.
The Ducks are now 6-0 in these playoffs, marking the fourth time this season that they have had a win streak of six games or more. They also won their final regular-season game, meaning this is their third streak of seven victories as well.
"It's huge, any time you can put a streak together and keep pushing, it's definitely going to carry you through," right winger Corey Perry said. "That's why we got home-ice advantage, to be here and get up and roll through our series."
That home-ice advantage has been immense against the Flames, who have struggled at Honda Center. They are 10-38-3 in the building all-time, with just two of those 10 victories coming in the past 15 years.
Left winger Matt Beleskey, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and center Nate Thompson scored for Anaheim. Center Ryan Getzlaf added two assists, as did Perry, whose 13 playoff points lead the league.
Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen posted his first career playoff shutout, making 30 saves in the process.
The Flames turned to backup goalie Karri Ramo for his first career postseason start, though he made three relief appearances, including the previous two games. He was impregnable for stretches Sunday.
"When you play against a goalie that's playing like that, you start to really worry," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said of Ramo. "You have to be perfect and we weren't perfect, but Freddie was there when we needed him to be."
Ramo rewarded coach Bob Hartley's decision by turning away 31 shots in a loss and holding them in the game during a lopsided first period in which the Ducks outshot the Flames 20-9.
"The first 20 minutes, we looked like 20 strangers out there who just met for the first time and they were all over us," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "Karri was the difference."
The Ducks earned a 1-0 lead 7:37 into the first period. Right winger Jakob Silfverberg chipped the puck ahead to center Ryan Kesler, who found Beleskey for a backdoor one-timer. Beleskey has a goal in both games of this series.
Improved possession time in the second period and heroics from Ramo kept the score 1-0 through 40 minutes. Each team successfully killed three penalties.
"If we just get one there, it's a different finish to the game, I think. It's frustrating for sure," Calgary right winger David Jones said. "There's some rebounds there I think we can do a better job of fighting for."
With 8:45 left to play, the Ducks finally gained some breathing room. Getzlaf dished to Perry on a rush that had the Flames defense retreating. Perry dropped the puck back for Lindholm. He glided to the middle of the faceoff dot to let a wrist shot fly that put the Ducks up 2-0.
"There's not too many guys who can make that shot through two bodies and put it right under the bar where he wanted to put it," Perry said. "It was a world-class shot."
Thompson added an empty-net goal with 2:16 remaining to further cushion Anaheim's lead.
Despite a stronger effort in Game 2, the Flames have now scored one goal in two games, finding themselves in peril as they head home to the Saddledome.
"You're always in the series until you start losing at home," Jones said. "We're going to have to win here eventually, but going home, in front of our fans, we've just got to worry about Game 3."
NOTES: Anaheim was once again without G John Gibson (illness), but otherwise had all players at their disposal Sunday. ... Flames LW Mason Raymond returned to the lineup, supplanting C Drew Shore. LW Michael Ferland, injured in Game 1, was replaced by LW David Wolf, who made his playoff debut. ... Calgary D Mark Giordano (bicep) remained sidelined but has begun skating, perhaps in an effort to expedite the Calgary captain's return. ... The Flames were without D Raphael Diaz (lower body), LW Lance Bouma (upper body), C Paul Byron (lower body) and D Ladislav Smid (neck). Diaz, like Giordano, has also returned to practice with the team.
Top Game Performances
Calgary |
|
Anaheim |
N/A |
Points |
Ryan Getzlaf 2 |
N/A |
Goals |
Matt Beleskey 1 |
N/A |
Assists |
Ryan Getzlaf 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Karri Ramo .939 |
Save Percentage |
Frederik Andersen 1.000 |
Karri Ramo 31 |
Saves |
Frederik Andersen 30 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Calgary
|
30 |
0 |
0-3 |
4-4 |
10 |
29 |
Anaheim
|
34 |
3 |
0-4 |
3-3 |
8 |
34 |
Upcoming Games
-
Anaheim will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Ducks have a W/L % of .647 after a win and .581 after a loss.
-
Calgary will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Flames have a W/L % of .511 after a win and .595 after a loss.