The Calgary Flames suffered a devastating overtime loss Thursday night at the Saddledome, falling 3-2 to the Anaheim Ducks after Mikael Granlund completed his hat trick with a power-play goal with just one second remaining in the extra frame.
Granlund's heroics extended his red-hot goal streak to four games, bringing his season total to 19 goals as the Pacific Division-leading Ducks stretched their winning streak to four games. Anaheim (41-27-4) now holds a five-point cushion over the Edmonton Oilers and sits six points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite the heartbreaking finish, Calgary (30-34-8) extended their point streak to five games with a 4-0-1 record during that span. Rookie Matvei Gridin and veteran Blake Coleman found the back of the net for the Flames, with Gridin stretching his point streak to four games.
Early Chances Squandered
The game began ominously for Calgary when a Pavel Mintyukov turnover in the opening minute created a golden 3-on-0 breakaway opportunity. However, Gridin, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato over-passed the chance and never managed a shot on goal.
Three minutes later, apparent salvation arrived when Yegor Sharangovich appeared to give Calgary the lead, only to have the goal overturned following an Anaheim offside challenge. The reversal marked the fifth goal the Flames have had waved off by video review during their current homestand.
Trading Blows
Calgary finally broke through 1:06 into the second period when Coleman redirected Joel Farabee's pass inside the post. The lead proved short-lived as Granlund responded with an unassisted marker just two minutes later to level the score.
Flames goaltender Devin Cooley, who entered the contest with an impressive .915 save percentage—second only to Colorado's Scott Wedgewood—stood tall in the third period despite being outshot 15-8. His acrobatic pad saves off dangerous chances from Anaheim's leading scorer Cutter Gauthier kept Calgary in the game.
With less than four minutes remaining in regulation and trailing 2-1, the Ducks found the equalizer on the power play. John Carlson's slapshot was stopped, but the rebound fell perfectly for Granlund at the side of the net, and he buried it from a sharp angle.
Injury Concerns for Anaheim
The victory came at a cost for Anaheim, which lost two defencemen to injury. Radko Gudas departed late in the second period with a lower-body injury, while Mintyukov was hurt when he took a shot from Olli Maata high in the chest during the third period.
Calgary's resilient play continues a strong stretch since the trade deadline, where they've posted a 6-4-1 record after dealing away veterans Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar.
Ville Husso earned the victory with 23 saves, improving to 9-7-1, while Cooley made 30 stops in the losing effort, dropping to 9-10-4.
The Flames will look to bounce back Saturday when they host the Vancouver Canucks, while Anaheim travels to face the Edmonton Oilers the same evening.
This story is based on reporting by Global Calgary.
