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 "We knew we needed to come out in the third and play with more
structure," said center Mike Santorelli, who scored a pair of goals
to lead the Ducks to a 6-4 win over the Flames at the Scotiabank
Saddledome. "We were just taking too many penalties. We weren't
playing structured. We weren't playing to our strength. We needed to
settle it down."
Santorelli scored his second goal of the game 51 seconds into the
third period when he batted the puck out of mid-air past Ortio to
give the Ducks a two-goal lead they never relinquished.
"It's always nice when you have a couple-goal lead on a team," said
Santorelli. "It takes off a little bit of the pressure."
Right winger Corey Perry scored once and added an assist for the
Ducks (28-19-8), who are in the midst of a season-long seven-game
road trip during which they have compiled a 3-1-1 record so far.
"When we're playing our best, we're tight defensively and that's the
way we need to be," said Santorelli. "Every game's important. We've
got to keep building and keep getting better."
Defensemen Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm and right winger Rickard
Rakell also scored for Anaheim, while defenseman Cam Fowler had
three assists.
"We're figuring out ways to win, that's for sure," said Fowler, who
wasn't happy that the Flames were able to jump out to a 3-2 lead
after the first period. "It's not how we like to do it."
Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to win his 13th
game of the season.
Calgary's top line of right winger Jiri Hudler, left winger Johnny
Gaudreau and center Sean Monahan combined for nine points in a
losing cause. Hudler had two goals and an assist, Gaudreau scored
once and set up two others, while Monahan chipped in with three
helpers.
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist for the Flames
(25-27-3), who have lost two in a row.
"You can't expect to win games letting in six goals," said
center/left winger Sam Bennett, who almost pulled the Flames within
a goal in the third period if not for a great pad save by Andersen.
"They were getting to the net a lot. They were generating a lot.
We've got to do a better job of keeping them to the outside."
Goalie Jonas Hiller started in net for Calgary, but was pulled in
the second period after allowing four goals on 17 shots. He was
replaced by netminder Joni Ortio, who wound up taking the loss after
making nine saves in a relief appearance.
"They were putting bodies to the net and that's how they scored a
lot of their goals," said Ortio. "They've got big guys. They played
simple hockey - throwing pucks on net and then capitalizing on
second chances."
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Trailing 3-2 after the first period, Perry and Vatanen scored
power-play goals 65 seconds apart early in the second, which
prompted Calgary coach Bob Hartley to replace Hiller in net with
Ortio.
Rakell then took a drop pass from Perry and snapped a shot past
Ortio at 12:18 of the middle frame to put the Ducks up 5-3.
The Flames pulled back within one with 6.5 seconds remaining in the
second when Hudler tapped a rebound past Andersen.
Gaudreau opened the scoring at 5:56 of the first period during a
man-advantage for the Flames before the Ducks tied things up at 9:59
with a power-play goal of their own when Lindholm blasted a point
shot through traffic over Hiller's left shoulder.
Hamilton put the Flames up 2-1 just 83 seconds later with yet
another power-play goal as he fired a slap shot from the point past
Andersen.
The first-period scoring frenzy continued as Santorelli made a nice
move before snapping a shot from the slot past Hiller at 13:48
before Hudler answered right back with his eighth of the season at
17:05. Hudler was actually trying to pass to center Sean Monahan,
but Ducks defenseman Simon Despres inadvertently redirected the puck
through Andersen's legs.
NOTES: Ducks G John Gibson sat out Monday afternoon's game due to an
upper-body injury he sustained in the second period of Anaheim's 3-2
overtime road win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. ... G
Anton Khudobin, who was recalled from the AHL's San Diego Gulls on
Sunday, served as starting G Frederik Andersen's backup on Monday.
... Anaheim's other scratches were D Korbinian Holzer and C Harry
Zolnierczyk. ... Although Calgary RW David Jones practiced with the
Flames on Sunday, he missed his second straight game on Monday due
to a lower-body injury. ... Calgary's other scratches were C Matt
Stajan and D Kris Russell, the latter of whom missed Sunday's
practice. ... Flames G Karri Ramo missed his second straight game
with a knee injury he sustained in the third period of Calgary's 6-5
shootout win over the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday.
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