Ducks Dominate Flames 6-1 In Game 1
Game 1 of the second round is one the Calgary Flames hope to forget, and move on from. The Anaheim Ducks showed their supremacy and why they were the best in the West with their 6-1 conquest on Thursday night.
“To go far in the playoffs … You have to rebound from defeats.” – Bob Hartley
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 1, 2015
It was painful to watch for anyone rooting for Calgary. The first period gave a glimpse of the pace that Calgary was playing at. Staying scoreless until just passed the halfway mark, things didn’t look too horrible. Calgary obviously wasn’t playing well, but they were hanging in there. Anaheim’s first pair of goals came almost 3 minutes apart. The first goal was an obvious mistake by the defense; focusing all of their attention on only a few from Anaheim’s offense, and not noticing Matt Beleskey was open with an empty net. The second goal came from Anaheim’s most potent line: Maroon, Getzlaf, Perry. These three can move the puck, and they do it well. You can’t give them time or space in the offensive zone or they will score. The second goal seemed all too easy, a beautiful pass by Getzlaf in the corner to Maroon waiting right in front of the goal. After one, you still couldn’t count Calgary out.
They’ve come back from a bigger deficit, and two goals isn’t a lot when you are capable of producing offensively. The second period showed the Flames digging themselves deeper into a hole. A goaltending change was looming, especially so after Corey Perry notched another goal for the Ducks just over 2 minutes into the second. So backup Karri Ramo took the net, and starting goaltender Jonas Hiller was out of commission after playing just 22 minutes. Another simple goal was given up to Emerson Etem just passed the 10 minute mark, but Calgary was able to hold them at four goals.
The third period gave way for Anaheim’s last set of goals, both scored on the power play. With a teams power play unit is as good as the Ducks, it’s no surprise that they scored twice on the one man advantage. A beautiful mid period slap-shot goal from rookie Sam Bennett was the only reason the team was not shut out by Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf came out of the game with four points a piece, they are certainly the line to watch.
“They were physical but we can do that too … We have to come out way harder on Sunday.” – Mikael Backlund
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 1, 2015
Some injuries sustained during the game by key players could be a reason for Calgary’s disastrous game. Jiri Hudler only played 6:59 and left the game with an undisclosed injury. Top defenseman Micheal Ferland also left only played 5:24, and did not come back into the game. Losing these two in the series would be detrimental to the Flames playoff run.
Calgary and Vancouver are more comparable in skill. So going from a series such as that to playing a team that is at a whole different caliber of play is difficult. Going into this series the Flames knew that it would be tough to win. Anaheim swept the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, and had eight days off before they had to face their next opponent. While most teams come back from a break like that sluggish, the Ducks seemed well rested and obviously ready to play. Calgary had several days off, and they seemed to loose their pace.
Calgary seem to be the ‘Comeback Kids’, so if they can get it together and play up to the level of Anaheim, then the prospect of staying in the series and being serious contenders against the Ducks seems a little more plausible.
