All season long, the Calgary Flames have defied the doubters. However, their surprising run could be reaching its end, now trailing the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 in this second round series.
On Friday, mistakes and an undisciplined penalty were the Flames’ undoing in a loss to the Ducks. Matt Beleskey scored the winner on a power play early in the third period of Game 4.
The Ducks can clinch a spot in the Western Conference final with a win on Sunday in Game 5.
Including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and regular season, the Ducks have won 21 straight games at Honda Center against the Flames dating to Game 3 of their first-round playoff series in 2006.
“It’s playoffs. You never know what’s going to happen,” Beleskey said. “We love going home. We love playing in front of our home fans, but I don’t think that whole streak thing matters at this point. It’s Game 5 of the playoffs. We need a big effort.”
Throughout the regular season, and even into these playoffs, the Flames provided numerous thrilling comebacks, and they will try to rely on that experience in this situation.
“We’ve just gotta believe,” said Flames forward Mikael Backlund, as per the Calgary Sun. “We’ve won three games in a row before, so we can do it again.
“The whole season, we’ve been coming back from some really tough mountains and we always seem to find a way to climb up on the top. This group never stops, just battles every day. Our work ethic and our character in this room is going to take us through these next couple of games.”