Ducks Beat Flames 3-2 in OT, Advance to Western Conference Final

The Anaheim Ducks put forth a dominant effort in Game 5 of their series against the Calgary Flames, and a Corey Perry goal in overtime propelled them to the Western Conference Final as they picked up a 3-2 victory.

The Ducks will face the Chicago Blackhawks in the next round of the postseason, which will begin later this week.

After the game got off to a sluggish start, the action picked up when Ryan Kesler was sent off on a double-minor about halfway through the first period. The Ducks were able to kill off the first half of the infraction, but with about nine minutes remaining in the frame the Flames scored. Jiri Hudler grabbed a pass from Dennis Wideman, and he eventually wristed a shot from the slot in past Frederik Andersen’s blocker to make it a 1-0 lead for Calgary.

The Ducks got a power play of their own a few minutes later thanks to a Joe Colborne penalty, but they were held without a shot on the man-advantage by a stout defensive effort from Calgary. The Flames got a power play just after the Colborne penalty expired, but it was Anaheim that had the best scoring chance as Andrew Cogliano got a shot off from in close. Karri Ramo did stop it however to keep his team in front.

After the Calgary penalty expired, Anaheim got another power play as Johnny Gaudreau committed an offensive zone penalty, but the Ducks were unable to capitalize as Calgary held onto their lead after the first period of play.

The Ducks couldn’t score on that power play, but when Colborne was sent back to the box early in the second period, Anaheim was able to tie things up. Jakub Silfverberg made the play happen as he won a puck battle behind the net and feathered a pass to the front of the cage. There, Ryan Kesler grabbed the puck and ripped a shot past Ramo to tie things up at 1-1.

About six minutes into the period, the Flames took the lead right back. Ryan Getzlaf had a pass from Hudler bounce off of his skate, and the bounce took it right to Gaudreau’s stick. The young Flames forward then ripped a shot toward the net, and it deflected off of Getzlaf’s stick and in past Andersen to make it a 2-1 game.

The second period ended with a scare for the Ducks as Corey Perry was sent sprawling to the ice by a hit from Matt Stajan. He was immediately helped off the ice, but he was able to return to the bench before the end of the period.

As the third period got underway, the Ducks took advantage of a power play and scored quickly. Francois Beauchemin fired in a shot from the point about a minute into the frame, and Matt Beleskey got his stick on the puck and deflected it past Ramo to tie things up at 2-2.

The Ducks continued their dominance throughout the third period of the game, racking up shot attempts against Ramo and frequently setting up possessions in the offensive zone. All total, the Ducks ended up totaling 14 shots on goal in the third period as they outshot the Flames by a wide margin, but none of those shots could finish off the game as the Flames forced overtime in the contest.

The overtime period featured a slew of scoring chances by the Ducks, with Beleskey getting denied on a breakaway and Ryan Kesler firing a shot off the post. Ultimately though it was Perry who proved to be the hero, as he grabbed the puck in a mad netfront scramble and flipped it home to send the Ducks to the Western Conference Final.

That series will begin later this week, with the Chicago Blackhawks heading to Anaheim for the first two games of the series.
 

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