Flames Fall To Ducks In Overtime

Blake Coleman and Matvei Gridin both lit the lamp, but the Flames were forced to settle for a point Thursday, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Ducks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Mikael Granlund scored all three Anaheim markers - two on the powerplay - as the Ducks ended Calgary's winning streak at four games.

The Flames thought they’d taken a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game. Yegor Sharangovich stepped into a snapshot from the left circle that beat Anaheim netminder Ville Husso clean to the glove side, but after a coach’s challenge, the play was called back on account of an offside.

Neither team was able to break through for the remainder of the period, Calgary outshot their guests 10-8, but Flames goalie Devin Cooley was forced into a tricky stop early, getting his right pad to a Cutter Gauthier rebound effort.

He robbed Beckett Sennecke with a blocker stop in period two, too, getting his hand to a backhand effort after the NHL’s rookie scoring leader found himself alone in front of the Calgary net with time and space.

Coleman put the Flames ahead 1-0 just over a minute into the middle frame, redirecting a Joel Farabee entry feed from the slot for his 17th goal of the campaign.

But two minutes later, Granlund answered back for the Ducks, and the teams retired to their respective dressing rooms all square at a goal apiece through 40 minutes.

Cooley made another 10-beller off Gauthier early in the third, after the young star was alone in front of the net off a broken play. The Calgary netminder coolly stuck his right pad out once again to deny Anaheim’s goal-scoring leader.

At the other end, Gridin and Sharangovich both hit posts while the game was tied, but at the 7:46 mark of the third, Gridin got another opportunity and cashed in, converting on a slick cross-ice feed from Olli Määttä to put the locals up 2-1.

The Ducks pressed for an equalizer in period three. Gauthier's one-timer with just under nine minutes left was kicked away by Cooley, then Määttä pulled a loose puck out of the blue paint with Anaheim skaters swarming toward the crease. 

Granlund potted a powerplay marker to tie the game at 2-2, though, with 3:33 left on the clock.

And in overtime, the Finn completed his hat-trick, one-timing a shot home with one second remaining in the extra period.

Cooley finished the night with 30 saves for the Flames.

Määttä factored in with a pair of assists, Victor Olofsson led Calgary with four shots on goal, and Zach Whitecloud finished the night with seven blocked shots.

The Lineup:

FORWARDS

Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund- Joel Farabee

Yegor Sharangovich - Ryan Strome - Victor Olofsson

Matvei Gridin - Morgan Frost - Matt Coronato

Martin Pospisil - John Beecher - Adam Klapka

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl - Zach Whitecloud

Olli Määttä - Hunter Brzustewicz

Joel Hanley - Zayne Parekh

GOALTENDERS

Devin Cooley - starter

Dustin Wolf

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 25, ANA 33

Powerplay: CGY 0-1, ANA 2-5

Faceoffs: CGY 48.4%, ANA 51.6%

Hits: CGY 17, ANA 22

Blocked Shots: CGY 21, ANA 14

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 23, ANA 21

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 7, ANA 9

Up Next:

Calgary's six-game homestand draws to a close Saturday, when the Flames entertain the Canucks on South Asian Celebration night. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. MT. GET TICKETS