Anaheim 3, Calgary 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Sunday, May 10, 2015
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Referees:
Chris Lee, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Brad Kovachik, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
17284
By The Sports Xchange
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Bruce Boudreau and the Anaheim Ducks have finally broken through to the Western Conference finals.
They defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 in overtime Sunday at Honda Center, sending Boudreau to the third round for the first time in his career and the Ducks back to that stage for the first time since their Stanley Cup season in 2007.
"I'm relieved that I won't get asked that question, I'm sure now it'll be that I've never been to the Cup final," said Boudreau, who showed off his vertical leap on the bench more than once in the late stages of the game.
Right winger Corey Perry swiped home the game-winner 2:36 into overtime during a goalmouth scramble, the likes of which the Ducks generated repeatedly from the second period onward. They had all seven shots on goal in overtime.
"During the third period and overtime, we had no answers for them," Flames coach Bob Hartley said.
Center Ryan Kesler and left winger Matt Beleskey also scored for Anaheim. Right winger Jiri Hudler and left winger Johnny Gaudreau tallied for Calgary.
"We talked about it in the second intermission, and we came out and completely dominated. In overtime, we just continued," Kesler said. "We knew if we kept throwing shots and going to the net, something was going to go in."
Anaheim netminder Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots, saying he was "picking his nose" at times late in the game. His relatively overworked counterpart Karri Ramo made 45 saves.
"I think he's a reflection of our group; he's a hard worker and a battler," Hartley said.
The Ducks began the third period with fresh ice and a full two minutes of power-play time. They capitalized as defenseman Francois Beauchemin's slap shot was redirected in by Beleskey 59 seconds into the final frame. Beleskey nearly ended the game on a breakaway in overtime but his backhand bid was turned aside by Ramo.
Anaheim had outshot Calgary 26-14 through 40 minutes, an advantage that they extended by registering 10 unanswered shots on goal during a stretch of the third period.
The two teams traded chances during the final gasps of regulation, but 60 minutes could not settle this contest.
"It was one of those games where you press and you press and you press and then they get a break, they score the goal and you're pretty depressed after that," Boudreau said.
Calgary struck first during a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Kesler. Defenseman Dennis Wideman faked a shot before dropping the puck to Hudler, who glided into the left faceoff circle to launch a slap shot past Andersen on the short side 10:43 into the game.
Kesler atoned for his penalty with a power-play goal of his own. He one-timed right winger Jakob Silfverberg's pass for an equalizer 4:59 into the second period.
A mere 56 seconds later, Calgary answered when a loose puck squirted out to Gaudreau between the circles. He smoked a wrist shot over Andersen's glove to regain the lead.
"The bottom line is Johnny is a winner, he wants to be the difference," Hartley said. "That's the kind of culture we want here in Calgary."
With 4:11 left in the second period, Calgary center Matt Stajan delivered a check to Perry that sent the right winger off the ice in pain and immediately down the tunnel to the Ducks locker room. No penalty was assessed to Stajan and the teams skated four-on-four after the resultant skirmish.
"I didn't know what to think, I was just trying to get back and play that next shift and let the chips fall where they fall," said Perry, whose 15 points lead all scorers in the playoffs.
Anaheim would create chaos in front of the Calgary net late in the period, but headed into the second intermission trailing 2-1.
The Ducks now set their sights on the Chicago Blackhawks, who await them in the next round following a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Wild.
"I'm rooting for them now. We didn't give them anything, they earned it," Hartley said.
NOTES: The Flames were without their captain D Mark Giordano (bicep), D Ladislav Smid (neck) and C Paul Byron (lower body). ... Calgary LW Michael Ferland (upper-body), RW Jiri Hudler (lower body) and C Lance Bouma (lower body) continued to play through injuries, all dressing Sunday. ... Neither team made any lineup changes from Game 4. ... Ducks LW Matt Beleskey scored a goal in each of the five games in the series, which gives him a franchise-record playoff goal streak.
Top Game Performances
Calgary |
|
Anaheim |
Jiri Hudler 2 |
Points |
Cam Fowler 2 |
Jiri Hudler 1 |
Goals |
Matt Beleskey 1 |
Dennis Wideman 2 |
Assists |
Cam Fowler 2 |
Jiri Hudler 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Matt Beleskey 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Karri Ramo .936 |
Save Percentage |
Frederik Andersen .895 |
Karri Ramo 44 |
Saves |
Frederik Andersen 17 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Calgary
|
19 |
2 |
1-4 |
2-4 |
12 |
26 |
Anaheim
|
47 |
3 |
2-4 |
3-4 |
12 |
43 |