Flames capitalize on early momentum to topple lowly Ducks, grab 2nd win in a row
Lindholm, Toffoli, Stone, Tkachuk all score in Flames victory
Michael Stone got his first goal of the season and an assist in his 500th NHL game, and Elias Lindholm scored his 36th goal in the Calgary Flames' 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Tyler Toffoli also scored and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for the Pacific Division-leading Flames, who have won two straight after their first three-game losing streak since January. Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves, and Matthew Tkachuk added an empty-net goal with 35 seconds left.
The high-flying Flames got an unlikely offensive boost from Stone, their 31-year-old depth defenceman. He hadn't produced a multi-point game since Oct. 17, 2018, but he picked up the second assist on Lindholm's opening goal before he scored on a slap shot with 9:32 to play.
"It was nice," Stone said. "I had I don't know how many chances. I think I hit every defenseman on their team at least once. It was nice to finally hit the net."
WATCH | Stone pots 1st of season in 500th game as Flames take win:
Trevor Zegras and Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks, who have lost 13 of 14 games since March 6. Anaheim has lost seven straight at home during that stretch.
"We hate losing here," coach Dallas Eakins said. "It doesn't feel good, and it eats at you. I'm proud of how we played. We played hard. We created enough chances to score more goals. We didn't get rewarded."
Anthony Stolarz stopped 24 shots as Anaheim remained competitive with another playoff bound opponent, but again failed to earn a point.
"I thought overall, our game was better than it has been," Henrique said. "They're simple things, but simple things that go a long way. It was better tonight, but still not getting the job done."
Calgary got on the board in the first period when Gaudreau, who leads the NHL in even-strength points, got the puck behind Anaheim's net and made an exceptional backhand pass into the slot for Lindholm.
Toffoli slipped through Anaheim's blue line in the second period and roofed his 19th goal of the season, including 10 in 25 games since joining the Flames from Montreal.
After the Ducks failed to capitalize on numerous scoring chances in the third, Stone was left all alone for a hard shot that ricocheted in off the bar for his first goal in a season spent mostly as a scratch.
"The first thing I always think is [to] hit it as hard as I can, because that's what I'm halfway decent at," Stone said.
Henrique kept the Ducks close with a power play goal with 8:07 to play, but Anaheim couldn't equalize before Tkachuk put his 33rd goal of the season into an empty net. Gaudreau got an assist for his 97th point of the season.
"It's fun winning again in consecutive nights," Markstrom said. "We had a rough stretch, but now it's good."
