CALGARY — These are the Anaheim Ducks we were promised.
Galvanized by big games from Alex Killorn (two goals), Troy Terry and rookie defenseman Olen Zellweger (three assists), the Ducks salvaged the final game of their five-game road trip with a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
“It feels good to win,” Killorn said. “We haven’t done that in a long time.”
The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for Anaheim (25-47-4). There are six games remaining in their season, including the next four at Honda Center. The Ducks host the Seattle Kraken on Friday night.
The Ducks’ victory over the Flames provided a glimpse of the type of play many Anaheim fans have been hoping to see all season. Young players and veterans collaborated to pin down the Flames and generate five goals, a flash flood of offense for a team struggling to score in recent weeks.
Goalie Lukas Dostal make 21 saves, improving to 12-21-2.
Mason McTavish opened the scoring at 14:03 of the first period when he parked himself in front of the Calgary crease and tipped in a Zellweger shot.
But the evening was mixed bag for McTavish, who was forced leave the game with a lower body injury after simultaneous hits by MacKenzie Weegar and Brayden Pachal. McTavish did not return.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Ducks coach Greg Cronin. “We’ll know more later. It was an awkward hit. I didn’t like the way it ended. I thought their guy took advantage. He was off-balance and falling, and (Pachal) directly hit him.”
Killorn’s two goals were his 16th and 17th of the season. He scored a career-high 27 for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.
Zelllweger was a revelation against Calgary. In what might be the rookie’s finest game, he supplemented his tight defensive play with the brand of activity on offense that made him such a coveted prospect.
Following the game, Cronin called his team’s win “gutsy.”
Killorn was more circumspect afterwards, contemplating how his team can build off of the win over Calgary and finish the season’s final six games enthusiastically.
Updates on the severity of McTavish’s injury will follow as they become available.
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