What we learned from Ducks’ 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames
Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau is ever the worrier. He was concerned about a letdown in the first home game following a seven-game trip, but his players put that fear to rest with a 5-2 win against Calgary on Sunday.
Here’s what we learned:
Getting physical won’t work against the Ducks
Anaheim has typically been known as an offensive-minded team under Boudreau, but in the past two seasons they’ve shown they can play a rough game without it getting under their skin.
That was evident after Calgary’s Sam Bennett delivered a knee-on-knee hit to Corey Perry in the first period. Perry and his teammates did not take a retaliation penalty.
“I think after Bennett hit Corey, our fourth line went out and had a great energy shift,” Kevin Bieksa said. “It’s not necessarily always has to be a fight, but they went out and threw four or five hits, created some turnovers, had a great energy shift and we picked it up from there.”
John Gibson quietly reached a milestone
Gibson recorded his career-high 14th win with 22 saves. The game was tight early with lots of struck posts and crossbars and Gibson got his shoulder on a prime chance by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau late in the second to protect a 2-1 lead.
Boudreau said they wanted to finish off the game right for Gibson but Calgary scored with 45 seconds remaining.
“Gibby had played such a good game, we wanted to keep it [that way] for him,” Boudreau said.
The Ducks’ special teams are lopsided
Their power play scored twice and is 12-for-46 in the past 12 games. Their previously top-ranked penalty killing unit has allowed 11 power-play goals in 10 games.
More to Read
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.