The Anaheim Ducks are filling nets and collecting wins, two trends they will look to continue when they visit the Calgary Flames on Friday night.
The Ducks arrive in Calgary on the heels of a nail-biting 5-4 victory Thursday over the Edmonton Oilers, the sixth consecutive game in which Anaheim scored five or more goals.
Anaheim took a 5-2 lead early in the third period and held on.
“Just got to try and keep it rolling,” said forward Beckett Sennecke, who scored twice for the Ducks in a three-point performance. “We’re doing a lot of things in the (offensive) zone, making a lot more plays, instead of rushing it. I think we’re rolling good now.”
The Ducks are riding a three-game winning streak and a 4-1-1 run. They have 14 power-play goals in those half-dozen clashes (14-for-26) and have a litany of players on hot streaks.
By opening the scoring in Edmonton, Cutter Gauthier became the first player in franchise history to score nine goals in a four-game span.
Meanwhile, defenseman Jackson LaCombe has 12 assists in an eight-game point streak, forward Leo Carlsson has collected 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in a six-game streak, and defenseman Tristan Luneau has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a six-game spree.
All the high-scoring games have had some flaws — the Ducks have squandered or nearly squandered leads and have surrendered 28 goals (while scoring 32) in this six-game stretch — but at least the wins have been coming.
“I thought we had a really good third period until they made it 5-3,” Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. “The guys worked hard, and there are a lot of positives.”
The Flames return home after ending a three-game road swing with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
Although Calgary couldn’t hold on to a one-goal lead at the midway point of the clash, the disappointment was tempered.
“I thought we played a good game, I really did,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “I mean, it was a close game both ways. I think they had some opportunities that our guy made saves on, and we did as well. We just weren’t able to score the goal that we needed.”
The Flames have alternated wins and losses over their past six games but believe they have gained momentum with a 6-2-1 record in their last nine games.
And now, after having played four of their past five games on the road, the Flames will kick off a three-game homestand. Calgary has won five straight at the Saddledome.
“Our fans have been great this year,” said forward Morgan Frost, whose assist on Yegor Sharangovich in Seattle was his 200th NHL point. “The last few games, they’ve been rocking, and we’re pretty excited to get back and play in front of them again.”
This will be the third meeting this season of the Pacific Division rivals. The first two games have been a split, with the road team winning both times.
Dustin Wolf could be in line to start in net for Calgary on Friday, but Devin Cooley has been activated to the roster after missing the last four games due to a lower-body injury.