The Ducks renew acquintances with their division rival for the first time since February 2020 after Calgary competed in the temporary North Division, comprising all seven Canadian clubs, for the shortened 2020-21 campaign. The Ducks and Flames will meet for a four-game season series, including Dec. 3 and Apr. 6 at Honda Center.
Anaheim will look to rebound from a heartbreaking loss Friday night against Minnesota. After the Ducks and Wild had skated over 59 minutes of regulation, nearly all of it tied, and with the game seemingly headed for overtime, Wild forward Marcus Foligno scored on a rebound to give Minnesota a last-second victory.
"I wish I had that second one back," goaltender Anthony Stolarz said following the loss. "It's going to burn tonight, but we'll park it in the rear view mirror and move on."
Stolarz made 41 saves starting in place of John Gibson. Jakob Silfverberg scored Anaheim's lone goal and leads the team in scoring (1-2=3), with points in each of his first two appearances this season.
The Ducks adjusted their 23-man roster before heading to western Canada. While Gibson sat out Friday's meeting with Minnesota due to a lower-body injury and the Ducks have not clarified his health status, the team did assign netminder Lukas Dostal to San Diego on Sunday. Anaheim also recalled defenseman Simon Benoit and sent down blueliner Greg Pateryn in the series of roster moves.
Anaheim's visit to Calgary will reunite the Ducks with some familiar faces, including Flames head coach Darryl Sutter, a former coaching advisor to Dallas Eakins, and defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who skated in 44 games from the Ducks in 2019-20.
The Flames host the Ducks looking for their first win after a season-opening loss in Edmonton. Andrew Magniapane and Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary, but a Connor McDavid hat trick propelled the arch-rival Oilers to victory. Mike Smith turned aside 45 Calgary shots to help Edmonton secure the 2021-22 season's first Battle of Alberta.
