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Instant Reaction: Flames hold back late charge to beat Ducks
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Photo credit: Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Apr 5, 2026, 00:45 EDT
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Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below! 
The Calgary Flames headed to Orange County on Saturday evening to face an Anaheim Ducks team that had lost four in a row. The Flames were the better team in the second period and were decent enough in the other two frames, while the Ducks varied between really sharp and not good at all.
The Flames got out to a 4-1 lead after two periods and held on for a 5-3 win over the Ducks.

The rundown

The Ducks had a lot of looks in the first period and midway through the frame, they cashed in. Jackson LaCombe made a heck of an outlet pass to send Beckett Sennecke in alone against Devin Cooley. The initial shot was stopped, but Sennecke threw on the brakes and got his own rebound to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
The Flames answered back a few minutes later, though. Matvei Gridin intercepted an errant Ducks pass in the Flames zone and made a crisp, quick pass up ice to Joel Farabee, sending him in on a breakaway. Farabee beat Ville Husso to tie the game at 1-1.
First period shots were 16-6 Ducks.
Early in the second period, the Flames got the puck up ice quickly with a couple of wild whacks that progressed things up ice. The puck ended up on Ryan Strome’s stick as he went in alone on Husso, and he beat the Ducks netminder to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.
Midway through the frame, Gridin chased down a Ducks forward in the neutral zone and created a turnover, which sent him and Farabee the other way. Farabee found Gridin with a back-door pass and Gridin beat Husso to put the Flames up 3-1.
The Ducks got a late power play in the second period, but they generated zero shots on goal. Shortly after the penalty ended, Olli Maatta made a great pass to spring Morgan Frost in on a breakaway and his shot trickled through Husso to give the Flames a 4-1 lead.
Second period shots were 10-9 Ducks.
The Ducks started to get some much-needed traction early in the third period and they started to push back and eat away at the Flames’ lead.
7:49 into the third period, Leo Carlsson beat Cooley to make it a 4-2 Flames lead. Carlsson tried to feed Mikael Granlund, but Zach Whitecloud blocked the pass, but the puck went back to Carlsson and he fired it past Cooley.
9:51 into the third period, with Morgan Frost in the penalty box, Mason McTavish buried a feed from Alex Killorn from the top of the circles to cut the Flames’ lead further to 4-3.
The Ducks pulled Husso for the extra attacker late. Both Blake Coleman and Whitecloud missed the yawning cage, but Frost added his second of the game into the empty net to cement a 5-3 Flames victory.
Third period shots were 13-5 Ducks.

Why the Flames won

The Flames got good goaltending in all three periods. They did a great job against a pretty porous and permissive Ducks squad in the second period. They did enough in the third frame to hold on for dear life. It was not a perfect 60 minutes of hockey, but they got enough pucks past Ville Husso to deserve a good outcome.

Red Warrior

We’re gonna give it to 21-goal-scorer Morgan Frost, who potted a pair to get over the 20-goal mark.

Turning point

We’ll point to any number of the Flames’ three second period goals. But we’re gonna single out Matvei Gridin’s goal, because the entire sequence was really great and showcased how superb both Gridin and Joel Farabee have been over the last month or so.

This and that

Devin Cooley started in net. Hunter Brzustewicz slotted in, bumping Brayden Pachal to the sidelines. The coaching staff rotated wingers around a bit to try to find line balance.
Ryan Strome’s goal was his 500th NHL point.

After Burner

Join Mike and Jordan from In The Dome right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (32-36-8) continue their road trip on Tuesday night in Texas against the Dallas Stars.

PRESENTED BY STAKE

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