CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Dougie Hamilton was as surprised as anybody that he was left alone in the slot late in Saturday night’s game.
Hamilton made it count, scoring with 16 seconds left to lift the Calgary Flames over the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Saturday night. Hamilton took a pass from Micheal Ferland and tucked a shot past John Gibson to give the Flames their third straight win.
“I was just jumping up and Ferly made a great pass and I realized I had a breakaway and tried to be patient, make a move and it just went in,” Hamilton said.
Ferland and Mark Giordano also scored for the Flames, while Mike Smith made 27 save for his 17th win.
“We’ve had the same mindset these last few games,” Ferland said. “We know how big these points are right now. We’ve just been playing simple hockey and waiting for our chances. I think it’s working for us right now.”
Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the third for the Ducks, who trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes. Gibson made 28 saves.
“Any time you lose in the last couple seconds like that, it’s tough,” Silfverberg said. “You don’t come by these losses a lot, but obviously they sting you quite a bit.”
Giordano had a great chance to open the scoring 27 seconds into the first period when he one-timed a pass from Matthew Tkachuk, but Gibson kicked out his left pad to make the save.
Ferland gave the Flames a 1-0 lead at 7:51 when he converted a feed from Johnny Gaudreau, who pounced on a turnover by Brandon Montour to set up the goal.
Just 44 seconds later, Giordano’s point shot deflected off Kevin Bieksa and past a stunned Gibson.
Silfverberg nearly scored in the second period, but Smith got just enough of the shot with his glove before the puck bounced off the post behind him.
Silfverberg scored a short-handed goal 2:56 into the third when he skated into the Calgary zone and cut into the slot before slipping a shot through Smith’s legs.
Getzlaf pulled the Ducks even at 6:50 of the third when he blasted a slap shot from the high slot into the top corner, blocker side behind Smith.
NOTES: Flames prospect Dillon Dube received a big cheer from the crowd at the Saddledome during a break in the first period when he was shown on the big screen with Canadian teammates Cale Makar and Jake Bean one night after they won gold at the world junior hockey championships in Buffalo, New York. … Ducks forward Ryan Kesler left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and didn’t play in the second before returning to action in the third.
UP NEXT
Ducks: Play at Los Angeles next Saturday night.
Flames: Play at Minnesota on Tuesday night.
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