April 15, 2017

Ryan Getzlaf scored the game-winning goal on a bizarre bounce off a Calgary Flames defenseman, and the The Ducks defeated the Flames 3-2 on Saturday night at the Honda Center.  The win gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead in their best of seven first round playoff series.

Getzlaf’s tie-breaking power play goal came with 4:46 left in the 3rd period, when his centering pass deflected off of Lance Bouma’s skate, arched high in the air, and past Brian Elliott.  It was the Duck captain’s 2nd goal of the series.

Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell scored 1st period goals for the Ducks and John Gibson made 35 saves for Anaheim.  It was the Ducks 29th consecutive victory in Anaheim against Calgary.  It is the longest such streak in NHL history.

The Flames received goals from Mikael Backlund short-handed, and Sean Monahan on the power play.

Anaheim had a 2-0 lead in the 1st period, but the Flames would fight back to tie the game.  Getzlaf acknowledged the rally Calgary put together before he scored the winner.

“They came out in the second period with the attitude that they were going to push us and play. They did a great job,” Getzlaf said.

The series now heads back to Calgary for games 3 and 4.  Game 3 is on Monday night.  Jakob Silfverberg says you have to expect that lucky bounces, like the one Anaheim got in the 3rd period, will just be a part of what’s ahead.

“That’s playoff hockey for you,” he said.  “That’s usually what it comes down to. You can have lucky bounces but you’ve got to make sure you’re on the right side of those lucky bounces, and so far we’ve been on the right side on it.”