Flames at Honda Center Tonight
By Omar Zaman
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From Brian Hunter at NHL.com:
FLAMES (13-6-2) at DUCKS (7-11-3)
Last 10: Calgary 6-3-1; Anaheim 3-5-2
Season series: First of four meetings this season. Anaheim won three times against Calgary last season, including 3-2 in overtime in the most recent meeting on Feb. 11. Scott Niedermayer, who owns the NHL record for OT goals by a defenseman, scored his second of the game 55 seconds into the extra period.
Big Story: It’s currently unknown how many Anaheim players are Maroon 5 fans, but the team as a whole would be wise to heed the advice of the band’s second album, “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.” In other words, there’s still time for the Ducks to climb out of the Western Conference cellar and get back into the playoff race, but if they continue to waste opportunities that window will close quickly. This is the third game of seven straight at the Honda Center.
Team Scope:
Flames: Depending on the result of Colorado’s game Monday, Calgary could take over first place in the Northwest Division with a victory. Jarome Iginla’s hat trick in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon carried the Flames to a 5-2 win, their second straight on the road. It took just 13 seconds for Iginla to get on the board, as he picked up his first of the game with a wrist shot from just inside the Kings’ blue line that changed directions off the skate of defenseman Sean O’Donnell and got past goalie Jonathan Quick.
“You always hope for those, they don’t happen very often first shift,” Iginla said. “I was just trying to use him as a screen, I didn’t even see it go in. Scoring that early we were all pretty excited. Especially after a tough last game, to have an early start like that, in an afternoon game, was a big boost.”
Ducks: Not that any reminder was needed that it’s a new season, but San Jose provided one anyway with a 3-2 win in Anaheim on Saturday. The Sharks have already won a pair of road games this season against the Ducks, who eliminated them in a shocking first-round playoff series last spring. Anaheim has split the first two games of this homestand, blowing a three-goal lead to Tampa Bay before winning in overtime on a Niedermayer goal.
“They locked it down and played pretty well at the end of the game,” Ryan Getzlaf said of the Sharks. “We had our chances. We played really well tonight. For the most part, we were right in there in that hockey game. We were playing a pretty good team, so it’s those little mistakes that end up costing you in the end.”
Who’s Hot: Iginla, who now ranks fourth in the League with 15 goals, has six of them in his last four games. Jay Bouwmeester has a four-game points streak for Calgary, with a goal and four assists over that span. Olli Jokinen has a goal and three assists during a four-game points streak of his own.
Anaheim forward Corey Perry is on a 14-game points streak, the longest in the League this season. During it, he has nine goals and 20 points.
Injury Report: Rene Bourque, the Flames’ second-leading scorer behind Iginla, has been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Joffrey Lupul missed the Ducks’ game Saturday with a lower-body injury, while Ryan Carter (foot) is expected to miss another month.
Stat Pack: Bouwmeester has been a minutes muncher for the Flames, averaging 26 minutes, 36 seconds of ice time per game. That’s barely more than the Ducks’ leader, Ryan Whitney, who clocks in at 26:27 per game.
Puck Drop: “Our battle and compete level were high,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said following the loss to the Sharks. The Ducks will need to repeat that and execute just a little better in order to take two points against the Flames.