A four-game winless skid has knocked the Anaheim Ducks off the top spot in the Pacific Division.
At least the Ducks (41-30-5, 87 points) won’t have to wait long for their chance to break out of their swoon, as they’ll host the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
A 6-2 home loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday pushed the Ducks behind the Edmonton Oilers in the chase for the divisional crown. Both teams have 87 points, but the Oilers have more regulation-time victories.
“Everyone knows the scenario that we’re in,” said Anaheim forward Ryan Poehling, who collected one goal and one assist against the Blues. “Last two games, I thought we played good hockey. (Friday) wasn’t the case.”
The Ducks remain in a strong spot to snap their playoff drought at seven seasons, but they have been off their game for more than a week. During their swoon (0-3-1), the Ducks have been guilty of porous defensive play.
“You can just see the coverage of the first goal,” coach Joel Quenneville said of his team’s loss to the Blues. “It turns into a breakaway and it’s uncontested. Those types of plays can’t happen.”
Anaheim has won four consecutive meetings with Calgary, all in extra time, so that provides a much-needed confidence boost. However, the Ducks know they can not simply rely on past success to get their game back in order.
“As a group, we just need to just pull together a little bit more,” Poehling said.
The Flames are looking to rebound from a pair of lopsided defeats.
Calgary (31-36-8, 70 points) arrives in Anaheim on the heels of a 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. That came after the Flames opened a six-road trip with a 9-2 thumping by the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Unlike the Colorado game, the Flames — who are close to being officially eliminated from playoff contention — held a 3-2 lead with four minutes remaining in the second period before surrendering four unanswered goals.
“We took too many penalties. Can’t give (those to) a team with a power play like that. I don’t know how many they had,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “It’s tough to claw your way out of that. It loses momentum and creates momentum for them, whether they create chances or vice versa.”
Vegas tallied on the power play to tie the clash before hitting the afterburners in the final portion.
The biggest positive of the game for Calgary was veteran forward Blake Coleman’s pair of goals, which gives him 19 for the season.
“It’s always good to score and help your team get on the board,” Coleman said. “I’d like to have one of the goals they scored on us back. Ultimately, it’s about how you play on both sides. Disappointed with giving up one, but nice to contribute. Just a tough loss, but we’ll bounce back.”
On Friday, Calgary summoned 21-year-old forward Aydar Suniev from the minors. Suniev, the 80th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, had 15 goals and 23 points with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in his first pro season. He made his NHL debut in last season’s finale after his sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
