The Flames' offense was the big question coming in. They had scored 5 goals over 3 games while controlling play, and they scored 3 in the 1st period alone. Then they stopped. Calgary had 0 goals over the last 2 periods and only 21 shots for the game, against 29 for Anaheim. They were also playing without Kevin Bahl on the back end, plus Connor Zary, Jonathan Huberdeau and Brennan Othmann up front. That's a lineup that can't afford to stop pushing after a good period, and it did.
Anaheim cut the lead to 3-2 in the 2nd, and from there the game was played on the Ducks' terms. The tired legs never showed up. Anaheim beat Calgary 3-0 in the 3rd period, which was the opposite of how a back-to-back road game usually goes.
Gauthier won it. He one-timed a pass from Granlund at 18:26 of the 3rd for the winner, his 12th goal of the season. That's 10 goals during a 5-game goal streak, and the run started with back-to-back hat tricks against Ottawa and Vancouver. He had already made Ducks history in Edmonton on Thursday by scoring 9 goals in a 4-game span. One night later, on no rest and in a 1-goal game, he finished the play that decided it.
The preview called Anaheim a team that trades chances with everyone. The Ducks had allowed 4 or more goals in 4 of their previous 5 games. This time they gave up 3 in a bad 1st period and then shut Calgary out the rest of the way. That defensive finish won the game as much as Gauthier's shot did.
Anaheim has now won 4 straight and is 9-7-1. Calgary has lost 2 straight and is 7-9-1. Both teams came in near .500 at 16 games, and this game showed how different they are. The Ducks keep scoring 5 or more, and their goal-scorer keeps delivering when it matters. The Flames showed for 1 period that they can score, then went quiet again with a hurt lineup.
Calgary's injury list is a big part of this. With Zary, Huberdeau, Othmann and Bahl all out, the Flames didn't have the depth to answer once Anaheim took over. Anaheim is still missing Troy Terry, Ryan Poehling, A.J. Greer and Ian Moore and keeps winning anyway, mostly because Gauthier is scoring at a rate the rest of the league can't match right now.
