Primer : The Flames will try to buck a trend against the Ducks. Calgary advanced out of the first round for the first time in 11 years, but in order to get past the Ducks, the Flames will have to steal a win or two in Anaheim – where Calgary has lost 20 straight dating back to 2004. Calgary is 8-24-6-7 in Anaheim since the Ducks entered the NHL in 1993.
Anaheim is the top seed in the Western Conference, but had to come from behind three times to get past the Jets. Both Anaheim and Calgary are resilient teams. Anaheim led the NHL during the regular season with 12 victories when trailing after two periods, and Calgary was third with 10. The Ducks became the first team in playoff history to win three straight when trailing after two periods. Calgary trailed Game 1 of its series versus Vancouver after two periods, but won 2-1 and the Flames rallied from three goals down to win Game 6.
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Schedule/TV (All times Eastern)
April 30: 10 p.m. at Anaheim; NBCSN, Sportsnet
May 3: 10 p.m. at Anaheim; CNBC, Sportsnet
May 5: 9:30 p.m. at Calgary; USA, Sportsnet
May 8: 9:30 p.m. at Calgary; NBCSN, Sportsnet
*May 10: TBD at Anaheim; Sportsnet
*May 12: TBD at Calgary; Sportsnet
*May 14: TBD at Anaheim; Sportsnet
* If necessary.
Regular-season series : Ducks won 3-2.
How they got here : The Ducks swept the Jets. Calgary beat Vancouver in six games.
Injuries : Ducks winger Chris Wagner is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The group Calgary brought into the playoffs is healthy, but the Flames ended the season short-handed. Calgary's Ladislav Smid and Mark Giordano were both lost for the season earlier in the year. The Flames then had forwards Paul Byron and Lance Bouma and defenseman Raphael Diaz go down in the final month of the regular season.
Key players : Calgary’s top line of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler combined for 17 points against the Canucks. Hudler and Gaudreau have six points apiece in the playoffs and are tied with Anaheim winger Jakob Silfverberg at eighth in the league. Hudler was eighth during the regular season with 76 points and his 31 goals were 12th-best in the league.
Gaudreau, Senators forward Mark Stone and Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad were announced Friday as finalists for the Calder Trophy, given to the league’s top rookie.
Silfverberg also has a postseason best plus-5 through one round, but is tied with three Calgary players – David Jones, Matt Stajan and Michael Ferland.
Ducks right wing Corey Perry has seven points with three goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Goalie matchup : Frederik Andersen has been excellent through four games. He improved his 2.38 goals-against-average during the regular season with a 2.20 GAA against the Jets. Calgary’s Jonas Hiller has an identical 2.20 GAA, but his ego took a hit when he was pulled from Saturday’s game against Vancouver after giving up three first-period goals. Still, Hiller should be motivated to face his former team.
Prediction : Ducks in 6.