Andersen helps set tone in Ducks' Game 1 win over Flames (VIDEO)
The Anaheim Ducks did more than just fan the Flames. They extinguished them completely.
The Ducks physically out-matched, out-worked and outscored their Pacific Division foes, the Calgary Flames, in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Thursday night at the Honda Center. The score was final at 6-1, but the game was fully in the Ducks' webbing from two minutes and five seconds into the first period.
The 2:05 mark was when Jakob Silfverberg slipped, giving up the puck in the neutral zone to Calgary's Josh Jooris, who turned and bolted down the ice. Jooris tried to go five-hole on the breakaway, but Ducks' goaltender Frederik Andersen denied him, and it established the tone for the rest of the game.
"I think we didn't really give them much except the breakaway, and that was it," Andersen said. "It's about making big saves at the right time. It was a good save at the right time and everyone else kind of fed off that."
It seemed innocuous at the time, but in reality, it unleashed eight days of pent-up playoff energy.
"The save was a big thing for us that got us going," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We came out with a lot of energy, but if that puck goes in, I think it's a whole different ballgame. It changes the complexion of everything."
That one save allowed the Twins to establish their dominance on the other end of the ice.
Instead of playing on their heels with an early deficit, the leadership line built on Matt Beleskey's first-period lead and wore down the Flames in the process. When they attempted to get physical, the top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon kept them at the wall, unable to fight back or gain solid control of the puck.
"That's our game plan, especially with our line," Perry said. "We have to play down low. We're not a rush-it-up-and-down-the-ice kind of a line. We're a grind-it-out-along-the-wall kind of a line. Grinding it out along the wall and in front of the net, winning some battles. If we do that, we're playing our game."
Perry and Getzlaf finished with four points each, tying a franchise record. Perry was a goal away from a hat trick and it was the second time this postseason that the right winger has tallied four points.
"When they're on their game, I don't think anyone can stop those two," Maroon said. "I feel like I'm just out there sometimes, but that's the nature of the game. Those two are so good, defensively and offensively."
And finally, that one save helped bring to the surface the underlying narrative of the game: The goalie matchup.
Andersen nearly pitched a shutout while the Flames put in a call to the bullpen early to replace former Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller, the same goalie that was replaced by rookies Andersen and John Gibson this time last year.
Maybe one year later, Boudreau was proved right, in a sense. Andersen has proved himself as the goalie of the Ducks' future and performed far better than Hiller Thursday night. However, one game is much too small of a sample size to make that statement. It would be completely unfair to Hiller, who could come back and redeem himself.
After all, Karri Ramo did give up just as many goals as Hiller. And Hiller was behind the eight ball early and the guys in front of him were suffering, missing two top wingers early in the second period.
Hiller insists that he, and the guys in front of him, are capable of more.
"I thought especially around the net, they outworked us and kind of both ends," he said. "At least we know we can play better. I don't think anybody was happy the way we played. Me included."
Boudreau called this one an "anomaly." And while blowouts are rare in the modern day postseason, make no mistake about this one, that one save and everything it led to made a statement.
"Tonight," Flames coach Bob Hartley said, "they gave us a real good idea of the price if we want to leave their building with a win."
