Ducks erase two-goal deficit, defeat Flames for fourth straight win

CALGARY, Alberta — Sometimes you can’t teach high-octane offense. It just comes naturally.

Behind four unanswered goals — including three in a strong final frame — the Anaheim Ducks erased a two-goal deficit to pull off a 5-3 comeback win over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday, extending their winning streak to four games.

After falling behind early on a backhand tally from Flames forward William Strömgren, Anaheim found the equalizer less than 30 seconds later when Jeff Malott buried a close-range chance for his third goal of the season.

Calgary reclaimed the lead late in the opening period courtesy of Joel Hanley’s first goal of the campaign. Ducks goaltender Lukáš Dostál turned aside the initial shot with a pad save, but the rebound bounced straight to Hanley, who found the back of the net. With Beckett Sennecke serving a two-minute minor for hooking, Joel Farabee capitalized on the man advantage, beating Dostál with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle to double the Flames' lead.

Jackson LaCombe and Leo Carlsson set up Tristan Luneau midway through the second period, as Luneau snapped one home to cut the deficit to 3-2 with 7:58 remaining in the middle frame. Anaheim entered the final 20 minutes in its final visit to Scotiabank Saddledome trailing by a single goal.

Anaheim’s electrifying offense — which entered Friday ranking sixth in the NHL at 3.69 goals per game — came out of the second intermission ready to put Calgary on its heels.

The Ducks drew even on a crisp power-play sequence engineered by Carlsson and Sennecke. Carlsson won the draw in the offensive zone before the puck worked around to Sennecke, who drew defender Jake Middleton out of position before slipping a pass back to Carlsson. The 21-year-old slapped it past Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf to knot the game at three.

With the game still locked in the final two minutes of regulation, Anaheim’s hottest sniper delivered the decisive blow.

LaCombe gathered the puck in the defensive zone and sent a breakout pass to center ice for Sennecke. The 20-year-old winger executed a slick between-the-legs dish to Mikael Granlund, who immediately fed Cutter Gauthier in the slot. Gauthier hammered a one-timer past Wolf to give Anaheim its first lead of the night with 1:34 left to play. The game-winner marked Gauthier’s 10th goal in his last five games, continuing a red-hot tear for the forward.

Nikita Nesterenko sealed the comeback with an empty-netter with 14 seconds remaining, putting out the flame on the 5-3 comeback victory.

Making his first start since surrendering a three-goal third-period lead to the Vancouver Canucks in a shocking 6-5 overtime loss, Dostál had a tough opening period on Friday, allowing three goals on 11 shots.

Coming out of the first intermission, head coach Joel Quenneville benched Dostál in favor of Ville Husso, who delivered a standout performance after coming on in relief, holding Calgary scoreless on 10 shots over the final two periods. 

"He kept us in the game," Granlund said. "We found a way."

Following a volatile opening month that featured four wins in their first five games followed by a five-game slide, the Ducks seem to be finding the form that helped them snap an eight-year playoff drought last season.

The Ducks (9-7-1) completed a sweep of their three-game Western Canada road trip, picking up a maximum six points and improving to 7-3-0 away from home this season.

Anaheim will look to translate that momentum back to home ice when it returns to Honda Center on Sunday to host the Pittsburgh Penguins.