SNAPSHOTS: Flames rebound with strong start, complete effort to defeat Ducks

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It didn’t take long for it to become clear that Tuesday was not going to be like Monday for the Calgary Flames.  

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They’d promised to be better against the Anaheim Ducks. They couldn’t have been much worse than they’d been the previous night against the Los Angeles Kings. 

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And it only took 37 seconds for it to be clear that the Flames (32-25-15) weren’t messing around. 

That’s how long it took for Nick Ritchie to slide the puck past Ducks (23-38-10) goaltender John Gibson and set the stage for the Flames to cruise to a well-deserved 5-1 win at Honda Center. 

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“We talked about it. Having two bad starts in a row, we had to be better,” Flames centre Mikael Backlund told reporters in Anaheim. “Scoring right away always helps, it gives energy to the group. 

“We wanted to come out and show we were better than last night. Last night wasn’t good enough and it wasn’t acceptable and we wanted to rebound from that.” 

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A nice win over the Ducks doesn’t undo the damage that was done in Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Kings, but it should go a long way towards calming the nerves around the Scotiabank Saddledome. 

Because as bad as the Flames were on Monday, they were just as good on Tuesday.

The Ducks never really seemed capable of putting up a fight, with the Flames outshooting them 43-20 and goals from Ritchie, Troy Stecher, Rasmus Andersson, Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane ensured the result was never really in doubt. 

With Dan Vladar turning away 19-of-20 shots, it was truly an all-round performance from the Flames. 

Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar blocks a shot from Anaheim Ducks forward Max Jones as Rasmus Andersson and Trevor Lewis defend at Honda Center in Anaheim on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar blocks a shot from Anaheim Ducks forward Max Jones as Rasmus Andersson and Trevor Lewis defend at Honda Center in Anaheim on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Photo by Gary A. Vasquez /USA TODAY Sports

“I think we were just really focused tonight,” Stecher told reporters in Anaheim. “We had four lines and all the pairings were going and Vladdy was kicking behind. Obviously, the start was what propelled to carry us on throughout the rest of the night.

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“You don’t get that first goal and things can change. Was a huge momentum shift in the game.”

With the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators both also winning on Tuesday night, the Flames badly needed to win against the Ducks. The victory keeps them four points back of the Jets, who sit in the second Western Conference wildcard position, as well as one point up on the Preds, who have three games in hand. 

With 10 games to go in the regular season, it’s a huge task to secure the points the Flames need to earn a post-season berth. 

But on Tuesday, they kept themselves in the fight.  

NOT AVAILABLE

Shortly before puck-drop, the Flames announced that defenceman Chris Tanev was out of Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury.

No further details were given, but Dennis Gilbert slotted back into the lineup for the first time since a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 2. 

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Tanev played more than19 minutes against the Kings on Monday and was on the ice in the last couple minutes of the game. He’s missed 11 games with injury this season. 

Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm skates with the puck against Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome at Honda Center in Anaheim on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm skates with the puck against Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome at Honda Center in Anaheim on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Photo by Ronald Martinez /Getty Images

QUICK HITS 

There probably isn’t a coach in the world who wouldn’t make big changes to their lineup after an 8-2 loss. Predictably, Flames head coach Darryl Sutter did the same. Jakob Pelletier and Adam Ruzicka were both healthy scratches, with Milan Lucic and Walker Duehr both coming back into the lineup … The Flames have had some truly bad starts recently, but it hasn’t all been bad in the early going of games this season. Ritchie’s goal 37 seconds into the game marked the sixth time the Flames have scored in the opening minute of a game, according to Sportsnet Stats, which is tied for the league lead … Tyler Toffoli has scored a lot of goals this season — 29, to be exact — and added three assists on Tuesday night, so it’s not like there will be a single complaint about his play. He’ll be left scratching his head at how he didn’t bury an opportunity on the doorstep in the first period, though … It’s sort of amazing to think that Anaheim was such a house of horrors for the Flames for so long. They had a 29-game losing streak that ended in 2017, but after Tuesday’s win they’re now riding five straight wins at Honda Center … Stecher’s goal was his first in 90 games. 

daustin@postmedia.com 

www.twitter.com/DannyAustin_9 

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