The Anaheim Ducks are rolling, even when they start slowly. As they prepare to host the Calgary Flames on Sunday, the Ducks would like to continue the first part of that statement, but would prefer to not require the second.
Heading into the clash, the Ducks are riding a four-game winning streak and have won 11 of 13 outings to jump into the second spot in the Pacific Division.
Anaheim is coming off a 5-4 overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, in which it erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 before scoring a trio of third-period goals and then the extra-time winner.
“We just have that belief in ourselves that we’re never out of it,” forward Beckett Sennecke said. “That’s kind of the biggest thing in these comeback wins is we never think we’re out of it, and we know we can score goals.”
Anaheim has racked up 19 goals in the four-game streak, all victories in the first four affairs of a nine-game home stand that began prior to the Olympic break.
The Ducks also erased a multi-goal deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, the first outing following the break.
As much as the Ducks can take pride in having claimed a league-best nine wins after trailing by two or more goals, they are well aware that is not a long-term recipe for success. They have also surrendered the game’s first goal on the first shot in the past two games.
“We’ve got to get better starts because we can’t play every game down like that,” defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. “It’s just not going to work.”
The Flames arrive on the heels of a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Although it was a one-goal game before the Kings tallied into an empty net in the final minute, that is small consolation for the Flames, who were blanked for the fifth time this season and have mustered only three victories in their last 10 games.
“We were fine, but when you’re in close games, you’ve got to find another level,” coach Ryan Huska said. “That’s, to me, what it looked like from the bench. You have a chance to grab a game when it’s close, and we weren’t able to do that. Whether that’s scoring a goal or making a better decision with the puck that led to their goal 5-on-5, those are the little things that I think were the difference.”
The clash with Los Angeles is the first time this season a game was played without any penalties called, but the shortage of power plays was not what the Flames were lamenting. It was the lack of opportunities generated.
“I don’t think we played our best game,” captain Mikael Backlund said. “At times we did, but too up and down throughout the game, a little too inconsistent. We had a little push at the end but not the way we want to play. We know we can play better.”
Moving forward, though, the Flames will look to rebound against the Ducks in the final outing of a three-game road swing through California, which opened with a victory over the San Jose Sharks.
“Hey, it’s one of the easier back-to-backs, I would say, in the league,” Huska said. “It’s a short, little bus ride. It’s not a late night for us at all, so the guys will be ready.”
