from Eric Stephens of the OC Register,

Nothing changed and everything might have for the Ducks, who may want the Calgary Flames more than ever to open up the Stanley Cup playoffs.

A possible prelude Tuesday night ended in the same manner Flames visits to Honda Center have ended for them since Randy Carlyle coached the Ducks the first time. But this 3-1 Ducks’ victory, their 25th straight over the Flames inside their home, saw them pay a potential heavy price.

Cam Fowler left the ice under assistance at 6:09 of the third period after Calgary captain Mark Giordano caught him with a clear knee-on-knee hit that left the Ducks’ minutes-eating defenseman unable to put any weight on his right leg well after taking a shot on goal.

The play, which could be looked at by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for possible supplementary discipline, infuriated the Ducks. Josh Manson took matters into his own hands immediately after Chris Wagner scored a goal by jumping Giordano and pounding on the defenseman.

"You saw our reaction," the Ducks’ Kevin Bieksa said. "Obviously we weren’t happy with the hit. It’s one of our best players. Who knows the severity of the injury? It looked like he was in a lot of pain. We weren’t happy with it so we responded the way we did."

Asked if the hit was dirty, Bieksa added, "It didn’t look clean. Didn’t sound clean."

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You can watch the hit at the 1:10 mark in the highlight package below...