Flames bounce back with 5-1 victory over Ducks

Calgary Flames Nick Ritchie celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim, Calif., on March 21. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

ANAHEIM -

Tyler Toffoli had three assists, Calgary scored twice on the power play and the Flames bounced back from a six-goal loss one night earlier with a 5-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Toffoli has nine points in the past four games, including six assists.

Nick Ritchie, Troy Stecher, Rasmus Andersson, Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane scored Calgary's goals. Mikael Backlund had a pair of assists and Dan Vladar stopped 19 shots for the Flames, who rebounded from an 8-2 defeat Monday night in Los Angeles.

"We just wanted to put that game behind us. And there’s no better way to put it behind you than to just go out there and play right away," said Mangiapane, who scored on a breakaway with less than five minutes remaining for his 12th of the season. "I think the first period set the tone for us. We wanted to come out strong and hard and just keep building off of that."

The win kept Calgary four points behind Winnipeg for the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference with 10 games remaining after the Jets beat Arizona 2-1.

"As a coach it is really simple: I just want to keep every game meaningful," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said.

Frank Vatrano scored Anaheim's lone goal. John Gibson made 38 saves, facing more than 40 shots for the 20th time this season.

"We knew that they were going to be a little ornery after their game last night against L.A., and other than a few spurts in the second period, maybe for about six minutes in the second, we couldn’t sustain much. Every time we turned, they were in our face," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.

Calgary has 12 goals with the man advantage over the past month, which is fifth best in the NHL. 

Andersson put Calgary up 3-0 less than three minutes into the third period on a one-timer off Toffoli’s pass. It was Andersson’s 11th goal and his third in the past six games. 

The Flames grabbed the lead 37 seconds into the game when Ritchie put in the rebound after Gibson made a pad save on Noah Hanifin's shot from the point. Ritchie's 12th of the season marked the sixth time Calgary has scored in the opening minute.

Stecher broke a 90-game goal drought at 16:50 of the first with a snap shot from the right faceoff circle to the high side of the far post. Stecher — whose last goal was on Feb. 17, 2022 — has three points (one goal, two assists) since being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.

Anaheim got on the board five minutes later when Vatrano lifted a wrist shot over Vladar's shoulder on his glove side. Vatrano's 17th marked only the second goal in Anaheim's last 15 power-play opportunities. 

Lindholm scored his 21st and gave Calgary a 4-1 lead 46 seconds into the third on a one-timer.

NOTES

Hanifin extended his point streak to six games with the first assist on Ritchie's goal. He has six points (two goals, four assists) during that span. ... Calgary defenceman Chris Tanev was scratched an hour before the game due to an upper-body injury. ... Anaheim forward Nikita Nesterenko made his NHL debut. Nesterenko was acquired from Minnesota in the John Klingberg trade at the deadline. Nesterenko played three seasons at Boston College and signed a two-year, entry-level contract last Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Flames: Open a three-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Ducks: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.