Key Takeaways
- Anaheim scored four unanswered goals to beat Calgary 5–3 after trailing 3–1 in the first period
- Cutter Gauthier scored the winner with 1:34 left — his 10th goal in five games, a first in Ducks history
- Calgary's five-game home win streak ended; the Flames fall to 7–9–1
Calgary's 3–1 Lead Evaporates in a 5–3 Loss to Anaheim
For one period, Friday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome looked like a statement win for the Calgary Flames. It ended as their most frustrating loss of the season: Anaheim 5, Calgary 3, on four unanswered Ducks goals.
Calgary's first period was nearly perfect. William Stromgren opened the scoring at 2:23, and after Jeff Malott answered 27 seconds later, Joel Hanley restored the lead at 16:29 — his first goal since April 5, 2025 — and Joel Farabee's power-play goal at 19:02 made it 3–1. Anaheim starter Lukas Dostal, beaten three times on 11 shots, did not return for the second period.
The comeback built from there. Tristan Luneau cut it to 3–2 in the second, Leo Carlsson tied it on a power play 55 seconds into the third, and Anaheim's relief goalie Ville Husso — perfect on all 10 shots he faced after replacing Dostal — held the tie until Cutter Gauthier's one-timer from the right circle with 1:34 left, fed by Mikael Granlund. Nikita Nesterenko's empty-netter with 14 seconds remaining finished it.
Gauthier's winner was his 10th goal in a five-game span — a first in Ducks history — and Anaheim has now scored at least five goals in seven straight games, winning four in a row to reach 9–7–1. Dustin Wolf made 24 saves for Calgary (7–9–1), whose five-game home win streak ended.
The Twikup Take
Blowing a two-goal lead at home stings; blowing it while your starter gets chased and your backup is perfect for 39 minutes stings more. Calgary's first period proved this team can dominate Anaheim. The final 40 minutes proved it still cannot close — an old problem wearing a new season's jersey.
Photo: "Ice Hockey preparation match at the PSD Bank Dome Dusseldorf in preparation for the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championships: Germany vs. USA (2:5)" by Sandro Halank — 2025-05-04 Deutschland gegen USA (Eishockey-Länderspiel) by Sandro Halank–047.jpg, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.