(SportsNetwork.com) - The Anaheim Ducks will take their perfect playoff record to Calgary on Tuesday when they visit the Flames for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Anaheim swept Winnipeg in the opening round before taking the first two tests of this best-of-seven set from Calgary. The Ducks have matched a club playoff record with six straight wins, tying previous runs during the 2003 and 2006 postseasons.
The top-seeded Ducks also are the first team to open a playoff year with a 6-0 record since Pittsburgh won its first seven games of the 2008 postseason. The Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals that spring.
Anaheim's most recent win didn't come quite as easily as its 6-1 triumph in Game 1. The Ducks posted a 3-0 victory in Sunday's meeting and only carried a one-goal lead into the third period.
Matt Beleskey opened the scoring at 7:27 of the first period, while Frederik Andersen turned aside all 30 shots he faced for his first career playoff shutout.
The Ducks outshot Calgary by a 20-9 margin in the first period, but only held a 34-30 edge in shots by the end of the game.
"Tonight was nip and tuck the whole game," said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau. "We were good in the first period, but once you have that many shots and you only have a 1-0 lead, I was a little afraid."
After a scoreless second period, Anaheim grabbed a two-goal cushion on Hampus Lindholm's marker with 8:45 remaining in regulation. Nate Thompson added an empty-net tally with 2:16 left in the contest.
"In the second period, they came at us really hard," added Boudreau. "We held our own and didn't get scored on. They were coming really hard in the third period until we got that goal. I don't think by any stretch of the imagination was this a dominant effort by us."
Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each supplied two assists for the Ducks, who hope to grab a 3-0 stranglehold on this series tonight at the Saddledome. Perry, who leads all players with 13 points this postseason, tied Teemu Selanne for second place on the all-time franchise playoff scoring list with 69 points
Calgary, meanwhile, is hoping to get back into the series away from Anaheim's Honda Center, where the Flames have lost 21 straight games dating back to April 27, 2006.
"They wanted to get the split and head home with confidence," Anaheim forward Ryan Kesler said. "We squashed it."
The Flames were 3-0 in Calgary during a first-round win over the Vancouver Canucks and went 23-13-5 at the Saddledome during the regular season.
Karri Ramo was strong in his first career postseason start, stopping 31 shots for the Flames, but the goaltender couldn't make a difference in Sunday's game.
"If it was not for Karri in the first period, this game would have been over," Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. "We can certainly draw confidence from the last 30 minutes."
The Game 2 loss marked the first time Calgary has been shut out since dropping a 4-0 decision to St. Louis on March 17.
Flames forward Michael Ferland was out of the lineup with an upper-body injury and is questionable for tonight. Fellow forward Jiri Hudler also left Game 1 with an injury, but was able to play in Game 2. Hudler, who is tied for the team lead in playoff points with six, failed to register a shot on goal Sunday in over 17 minutes of ice time.
Calgary defenseman Raphael Diaz hasn't played at all in these playoffs due to a lower-body injury, but recently returned to practice and could return to game action tonight. Diaz last played on April 2.
This is the second postseason encounter between the Ducks and Flames. The only other playoff meeting was in 2006 when Anaheim ousted Calgary from the first round in seven games.
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