Anaheim left Calgary with a tidy 4-2 NHL road win, built on sharp special teams and a strong finish at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Ducks struck once on the power play and once while shorthanded, flipping a tight game in their favor. Calgary matched Anaheim in shots on goal and led most possession markers, but the numbers under the hood point to why the scoreline went the other way. In front of 16,894 fans, the visitors were cleaner in key moments and got the better goaltending.

Special teams swing the game

Calgary went 0-for-3 on the power play, and that was the night’s headline. The Ducks converted 1 of 2 with the extra skater and added a dagger shorthanded strike to boot. Jackson LaCombe’s power play goal opened Anaheim’s account in the first period, a direct reward for quick puck movement fed by Mikael Granlund and Leo Carlsson. Later, Ryan Poehling’s shorthanded goal in the third flipped momentum just as Calgary was hoping to push on.

Faceoff execution magnified the gap on special teams. The Ducks were perfect on power play faceoffs at 2-for-2, while the Flames could only win 2 of 6 with the man advantage. Short-handed draws told a similar story, Anaheim winning 4 of 6, Calgary 0 of 2. When you start with the puck, you control the first look, and the Ducks’ special teams owned those starting points. Anaheim also posted a perfect power play shot rate on the night at 1-for-1, while Calgary’s power play managed only one shot and no conversion.

Third period, big plays

The third period finished level on shots, 8-8, but Anaheim found two goals and the game’s biggest defensive plays. Poehling’s shorthanded finish, assisted by Pavel Mintyukov, set the tone early in the frame. Calgary did get a power play chance later, but again could not generate a breakthrough. The Ducks then iced it late as Nikita Nesterenko scored from even strength, set up by Granlund and Alex Killorn.

Away from the scoreboard, Anaheim’s details were excellent in the closing stretch. They out-hit the Flames 6-1 in the third and out-blocked them 5-3, which helped protect the lead. Calgary also took a minor penalty in the final minutes, blunting any late surge as the clock ticked down. The period summed up the night, the Ducks making the timely play while Calgary’s pressure lacked a final touch. When margins are thin, that is usually enough on the road.

Goaltending and shot quality tell the rest

Ville Husso delivered a .931 save percentage with 27 stops for Anaheim, and he was clean on the penalty kill and sturdy at even strength. Dustin Wolf made 24 saves for Calgary, finishing at .857, and the special teams split loomed large, with one on the power play beating him. At five-on-five, both teams converted 7 percent of their shots overall, which underscores how much the Ducks’ special teams output separated them.

Shot types hint at finishing quality. Anaheim scored twice on snap shots, going 2 of 6, and added a net-front poke finish on their lone attempt. Calgary relied heavily on wrist shots, converting 2 of 20, with nothing from their other looks. The Ducks also kept Calgary to a longer average shot distance, 10.7 meters for the Flames compared to 9.5 for Anaheim. That combination, tighter finishing and slightly closer looks, paired with a hot goalie, tends to travel well.

Possession vs result, and why it favored Anaheim

Calgary carried a 54.2 percent Corsi and 53.0 percent Fenwick, plus a slight edge in overall faceoffs at 51 percent. The Flames also led even-strength faceoffs 54 percent, so they had plenty of initial touches and zone time. Yet the Ducks countered with 23 blocked shots to Calgary’s 15, a big cushion that erased shooting lanes and killed rebound chances. Anaheim added 27 hits to the Flames’ 24, finishing more checks as the night wore on.

Turnovers were nearly a wash, 16 giveaways for Calgary and 15 for Anaheim, and takeaways leaned Flames 4-1. The story was not about mistakes, it was about maximizing the moments that matter. The Ducks owned special teams, won the right faceoffs in those situations, and got saves at the right times. Calgary’s 0-for-3 power play and a conceded shorthanded goal became a two-goal swing in a one-goal game until late. Sometimes the simplest split decides it.

Standouts and streaks

For Anaheim, Poehling took first-star honors with a shorthanded goal and an assist, plus a 53.8 percent night on draws. Granlund quietly ran the show with two assists, including the key pass on the late insurance marker. LaCombe scored the power play goal early, and Nesterenko sealed it late, with Killorn picking up a helper and a plus-two swing. Husso’s third-star nod was deserved, buoyed by 26 even-strength saves.

On the Calgary side, Matt Coronato recorded two primary assists, while Morgan Frost and Aydar Suniev scored at even strength. Kevin Bahl was plus-two from the blue line, while Zach Whitecloud led the Flames with five hits. Calgary controlled plenty of the puck, generated 29 shots, and created more attempts overall. The Ducks, though, made their blocks count, made their special teams count, and left Alberta with the points.

Calgary’s early-season slide continues with a fourth straight loss, while Anaheim’s solid form improves to three wins from four. Fans can track every NHL box score, advanced stats like Corsi and Fenwick, and player pages on Sofascore, which had full live coverage from the Saddledome. If you are checking trends, bookmark power play percentages and blocked shots for both teams, they often tell you what the scoreboard will say next. On this night, they told it early and accurately.