In Anaheim, the Ducks’ bubble was burst when Cam Talbot made 44 saves for the Calgary Flames in a 5-0 decision.
Mikael Backlund had a pair of goals for the Flames – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“I felt like I controlled the game the best I could,” Talbot said. “I didn’t leave too much laying around for them to bang in. A lot of their shots came from the outside. Makes it easy for me to control it.”
Mikael Backlund and Mark Jankowski struck for a pair of goals each in the win.
“Ever since I got that first one in Ottawa [on Jan. 18] the weight was lifted off my shoulders a little bit,” Jankowski said. “I was able to play a little bit more freely.”
Calgary scored four times in the opening frame.
“It was 4-0 after the first, but with 40 minutes, there’s a lot of time there, so it was really important, we wanted to focus on getting the next goal,” Anaheim’s Josh Manson said. “We didn’t do that, and then we just kept slipping behind.”
Elias Lindholm opened the scoring for the Flames for a 1-0 lead.
“We got some timely scoring early,” Calgary head coach Geoff Ward said. “I liked the response of our guys. We talked about how important it was to come out and play a solid first period, get into the game early. I thought the guys did a good job of that.”
Anaheim had a five-game point streak end at 3-0-2.
“As much as you want to keep point streaks going, I think a kick in the rear end is good for you every once in a while,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said.
[WATCH: All Flames vs. Ducks highlights]
John Gibson was the starter for the Ducks, but was given the hook after yielding four goals and making 12 saves.
“Getting down in the first period wasn’t good for us,” Eakins said. “We’ve got to come out and get that first goal. If we can’t get the first one, we certainly can’t get down two or three because the odds fly directly the other way on us.”
Ryan Miller made 14 saves in a mop up role.
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