from Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun,
If you’ve been following this second-round showdown between the Flames and Ducks, you know Honda Center has been a house of horrors for the crew from Calgary. In fact, they have lost 21 straight contests in Anaheim, a skid that dates back to April 25, 2006.
So the idea of facing elimination just down the street from Disneyland is ... well ... downright frightening.
With a victory Friday in Game 4 at the Saddledome (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet/Sportsnet 960 The Fan), the Flames can avoid that.
Or, at least, delay it.
“Obviously, they have home-ice advantage, so you have to win one there,” said Flames right-winger David Jones. “To get the win last game was a huge game. And now, it’s going to be equally important. We don’t want to go back into their building down 3-1.”
The Flames were down 3-2 in the final moments of Tuesday’s Game 3, but Calder Trophy candidate Johnny Gaudreau picked the top shelf with 19.5 ticks left in the regulation to force overtime and centre Mikael Backlund snaked a shot through traffic on a delayed penalty call in the extra session.
Game over.
Series on.
“I think we’ve given them some life in the series now, which is never a good thing, especially against a pesky Calgary team, a team that really enjoys playing in their own building,” Ducks defenceman Cam Fowler told reporters after Thursday’s practice in Banff. “We understand that we’ve given them some confidence for Game 4 but, when it comes down to it, if we do the things we can do as a team, we feel like we’re a difficult group to handle.
“We have to come with a good response in Game 4 and try and put another stranglehold on the series.”
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