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 continued their homestand on Thursday night, welcoming the Anaheim Ducks to the palatial confines of the Scotiabank Saddledome for a Pacific Division clash.
While the hockey world refreshed their phones to learn more about a pending trade, the Flames took care of their business on the ice, beating the Ducks by a 4-1 score. All of the Flames’ goals were scored by homegrown players, led by a pair from Matt Coronato.

The rundown

The opening period was fairly back and forth, with the Flames getting looks but not being able to convert them.
Midway through the period, Jackson Lacombe broke up a Flames power play zone entry and sent Frank Vatrano through the neutral zone with the puck. Vatrano strode into the Flames’ zone, and beat Dustin Wolf high glove-side to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
First period shots were 10-8 Ducks. Via Natural Stat Trick, five-on-five scoring chances were 7-6 Ducks (high-danger chances were 1-0 Flames).
Early in the second period, the Flames tied things up. This time, the Flyers turned the puck over and the Flames made a couple quick passes which sent Adam Klapka in all alone with the puck. He deked around John Gibson and tucked the puck into the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Late in the period, the Flames grabbed the lead. They lost an offensive zone face-off, but the Ducks made an errant pass which was intercepted by Matt Coronato. Coronato button-hooked towards the high slot – creating a couple layers of traffic with his move – and fired a shot through traffic and past Gibson to give the Flames a 2-1 lead. (The puck glanced off Blake Coleman on its way in, so Coleman received credit for the goal following the game.)
Second period shots were 12-8 Flames. Five-on-five scoring chances were 12-6 Flames (high-dangers were 3-3).
The Flames kept at it in the third and added some insurance.
Coronato took advantage of a Gibson puck-handling miscue after a save and jammed the puck into the Ducks net to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.
Coronato added an empty-netter to complete his first career hat trick and made it 4-1 Flames. The Flames held on for the win.
Third period shots were 14-10 Ducks. Five-on-five scoring chances were 11-5 Ducks (high-danger chances were 4-2 Ducks).

Why the Flames won

The Flames were alright in the first period. But they did a good job building their game. They played two periods down a forward and they did a nice job simply playing their game, rolling their lines, and minimizing mistakes. And when the Ducks made mistakes, the Flames made them pay.

Red Warrior

Matt Coronato scored two goals and was briefly credited with a third. He’s the easy choice here.

Turning point

It’s a bit of an obvious choice, but Coleman’s go-ahead goal at the end of the second period was huge and sent the locals into the intermission with a lead.

This and that

Andrei Kuzmenko was a late scratch for the Flames. Jakob Pelletier left the game after the first period for unspecified reasons.
Nazem Kadri fought Jacob Trouba in the second period.

Up next

The Flames (25-18-7) return to action on Saturday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings.

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