|
 Goaltender John Gibson stopped all 14 shots he faced to backstop the
Ducks to a 1-0 win over the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"We had a game plan to try to clog up the neutral zone and kind of
slow them down," said Gibson, who recorded his third shutout of the
season and the fifth of his NHL career. "We did a pretty good job of
it tonight."
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau praised his team for putting in a strong
defensive effort from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer.
"For our team to do that for 60 minutes, I thought was great," said
Boudreau. "Usually you can do it for a little bit and you don't keep
it up, but I thought everybody was focused and we controlled the
neutral zone."
Center Shawn Horcoff scored the lone goal of the game for the Ducks
(14-15-6), who have won two straight games and have gone 3-1-1 in
their past five to get back into playoff contention in the NHL's
Western Conference.
"It was a hard-fought game, but they just clogged up the neutral
zone the entire game," said Flames defenseman and captain Mark
Giordano. "It was tough to generate much on both sides. I thought we
got a few good looks, but for the most part there wasn't many
scoring chances."
Making his seventh straight start in net for the Flames (17-17-6),
goalie Karri Ramo stopped 20 of 21 shots he faced to keep Calgary in
the game.
Coming into the game, the Flames won two in a row, including a 5-3
decision over the Edmonton Oilers at the Saddledome, which was their
11th straight win on home ice to set a franchise record.
"For a team, again, that had a franchise-record 11 wins in a row,
you knew they weren't going to take anything lightly," said
Boudreau. "We had to battle as hard as we could to get this game."
Ramo had to be sharp in the game's first minute as he made a pad
save to stop a backhand shot from in close by Ducks left winger Carl
Hagelin.
Left winger Johnny Gaudreau had the first good chance of the game
for the Flames three minutes into the first, but Gibson stood his
ground to stop a wrist shot labelled for the top corner.
Anaheim center Ryan Kesler then had a great chance to get the Ducks
on the board when he intercepted a pass by Giordano right in front
of the Calgary net, but Ramo made another nice pad save to deny the
scoring attempt.
After outshooting the Flames 6-4 in the opening frame, the Ducks
increased that margin to 11-3 in the second period and were rewarded
when Horcoff opened the scoring at 12:36 when he one-timed a pass
from center Rickard Rakell past Ramo.
[to top of second column] |
"We got involved in a festival of turnovers," said Flames coach Bob
Hartley. "Part of the credit has to go to the Ducks, but we
mismanaged the puck and we basically spent the entire (second)
period in our zone."
Forward Sam Bennett had a great chance to pull the Flames even just
past the mid-way mark of the third period, but his wrist shot
glanced off the crossbar behind Gibson and out of play. Bennett had
another chance later in the third, but Gibson stopped his shot from
a bad angle before falling on the puck before it crossed the goal
line.
"I think it got caught in my pants," said Gibson. "I just didn't
know where it was, so I was just being a little extra careful. It's
just one of those things where I just want to make sure it doesn't
go over."
NOTES: Looking to add more size against the Ducks, Flames coach Bob
Hartley inserted LW Brandon Bollig into the lineup on Tuesday in
place of LW Mason Raymond. ... Calgary's other scratches were C Josh
Jooris and D Ladislav Smid. ... Ducks D Cam Fowler was placed on
injured reserve on Monday a day after spraining his right knee
during the first period of Anaheim's 4-2 win at home over the
Philadelphia Flyers. ... Also on Monday, the Ducks recalled D Shea
Theodore from the AHL's San Diego Gulls. Theodore made his NHL debut
against the Flames. ... Anaheim's scratches were RW Chris Stewart
and D Korbinian Holzer. ... The Flames will finish up their
four-game homestand with a tough test against the Pacific
Division-leading L.A. Kings on New Year's Eve. ... The Ducks will
continue their road trip through western Canada with games against
the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Vancouver Canucks the next
night.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
