Ducks’ comeback falls short in shootout loss to Calgary Flames

Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk scored in the shootout and the Calgary Flames beat the Ducks 4-3 on Friday night.

Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist for the Pacific Division-leading Flames, who are 6-0-2 in their last eight on the road. Blake Coleman and Elias Lindholm also had goals for Calgary in regulation and Dan Vladar stopped 31 shots.

Monahan and Coleman also snapped long scoring droughts. Monahan got his first goal in 13 games and Coleman hadn’t scored a goal in his last 16.

“When they’re getting chances and they’re not going in, they start lying awake at night, thinking about the ones they missed. So it’s nice to see them get rewarded,” Calgary assistant coach Ryan Huska said.

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The Ducks trailed 3-1 in the second period before rallying back. Rickard Rakell scored with 36 seconds remaining in the period on a slap shot and Vinni Lettieri evened it 2:04 into the third on the power play with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle off Trevor Zegras’ pass.

Sonny Milano also had a goal for the Ducks and John Gibson made 33 saves. Despite the loss, the Ducks have picked up points in three straight games and are 11-4-1 since Oct. 31.

“We played very well in the first period, and we played very well in the third period. The second period, we got away from our game, and that’s also a reminder too. If we want to be an elite team, we have to play a certain way,” coach Dallas Eakins said. “If we’re not going to do it to a man, then we are going to very quickly get in trouble. I think our group has learned enough lessons, and it’s time to take another step forward.”

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Monahan had his first multi-point game since Nov. 14 at Ottawa. After Milano opened the scoring 54 seconds into the second with a tip-in, Monahan fed a perfect pass to Coleman in front of the net to tie it three minutes later.

Later in the period, Monahan snapped a 12-game drought and gave Calgary a 3-1 lead with 4:50 remaining when Trevor Lewis found him alone in front of the net. It was Monahan’s 207th career goal with the Flames, which moved him into seventh place in franchise history.

“You just gotta grind. I mean, if it’s not coming, if it’s not working, you just gotta grind through it and stick with it,” Monahan said. “You don’t wanna get frustrated because then you lose other aspects of your game. You just gotta stick with it and gotta build your confidence up slowly.”

The Flames took advantage of a Ducks turnover midway through the second to take a 2-1 lead when Lindholm had a give-and-go goal after taking the pass from Gaudreau.