Ducks caught looking by Flames, lose fifth straight in tight playoff push
· Yahoo Sports
ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was déjà vu all over again for the Anaheim Ducks.
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For the second straight game, they scored the rare (for them) opening goal, and for the second straight game, Anaheim saw that lead evaporate within the next five minutes. For the fifth straight game, the Ducks could not execute their now signature comeback magic.
The Calgary Flames jumped on the mistakes of a pressing Anaheim squad and capitalized on nearly every breakaway and odd-man rush thrown their way, as the Flames pulled away, 5-3, on Saturday at Honda Center.
Anaheim has now lost five in a row (0-4-1) following a four game win streak to see a five-point lead in the Pacific Division fall to second place with one point separating the division’s top three teams with five games remaining.
“We’re just too sloppy,” Leo Carlsson said. “We just got to find a better playoff mentality, I think. Making sure plays. Play harder… We gotta figure it out, like, now.”
Beckett Sennecke put the Ducks ahead early with his NHL rookie-leading 23rd of the season, but the Flames scored just over three minutes later to tie the game.
Now Flames forward Ryan Strome scored his 500th NHL point in his return to Anaheim on a go-ahead breakaway in the second period.
Despite scoring just their fifth opening goal since the Olympic break, the Ducks have trailed in all 21 games out of the break. The last team to trail in at least 20 consecutive games and make the playoffs were the 1991 Vancouver Canucks.
Calgary scored three breakways in the game and another on an odd-man rush, and the Ducks couldn’t claw back, despite a hold on the shot chart (39-20) and the possession analytics (57.61% expected goal share at five-on-five, including 70.84% in the third period).
“The breakaways and the odd man breaks were preventable by basically knowing that that's what they're gonna do on a shot from our top,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said, “and they take off, and all of a sudden, it's free. They got them going… then we got going in the third, with some possession and zone time, and opportunities. And we've been fortunate in all year (on comebacks), but tonight, it didn't happen.”
Leo Carlsson scored on an unassisted rush eight minutes into the third period, and Mason McTavish ripped a power play marker two minutes later. However, the Ducks didn’t get the final push, and the Flames melted the game with an empty net.
Ville Husso made 15 saves on 19 shots.
“We're missing a lot of different guys that not necessarily are the scorers,” Quenneville said, “but they're the guys that were playing a real solid team game, and I think that's one thing we got to tighten up… let's make sure that you take pride, and basically, you don't want to be on the ice when you score. Nobody wants to give up goals.”
“Watched a tremendous hockey game this afternoon (Colorado-Dallas). Maybe the two best teams in our conference going at it. It's a one-nothing hockey game the whole way. We gotta be ready to play those kind of games.”
Anaheim (41-31-5, 87 points) remained in a tie on points with first-place Edmonton (39-29-9, 87 points), but the Oilers remained in first on the regulation wins tiebreaker, despite a 5-1 home loss to third-place Vegas (35-26-16, 86 points).
There is now one point separating the division leaders from losing home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs and just six points between first place and the first spot out of the playoffs.
The Ducks continue their final homestand of the regular season on Tuesday against the current second wild-card Nashville Predators
Tyson Hinds makes NHL debut
After Quenneville mentioned postgame on Friday the Ducks were searching for an answer at the left defense with Pavel Mintyukov out and right-hander Ian Moore struggling, Anaheim found a solution from AHL San Diego.
Tyson Hinds was called up from the farm on Saturday morning, and the left-hander made his NHL debut on Saturday night. Hinds was in the starting line-up and was second on the team in ice time at 23:33–all of which came at five-on-five, most by any Duck.
“It was fast paced. I love it,” Hinds said. “Just enjoying it. Every moment. Starting too, starting the first shift. So I'm glad that got the first shift out of way quickly, and the nerves were out right away. It was fun.”
It could be a pressured position, jumping into a playoff bound team as it looks to correct a free-fall and actually clinch its playoff position, but Hinds has been getting big minutes with the Gulls, who are in the middle of their own playoff push on the margins of the Calder Cup race.
“Obviously, every game counts,” Hinds said. “Big games towards the playoffs coming. So we're trying to get trying to get wins and points here, and it's a big race. So I'm just glad that I got this opportunity, and it's great, and I'll build from there.”
The 6-foot-3, 201-pound 23-year-old slotted into that left side across from veteran John Carlson, while Moore moved up to his oft-used forward slot.
“For young guys like me, it's nice to be paired with (veterans) and make plays and just rely on them to see the small details that they do and try to include in my game,” Hinds said.
Hinds was one of the last cuts in Ducks training camp, as the Ducks opted for more playing time for the 2021 third-round pick. It seems now like it was a good decision, as Hinds did not miss a beat in his NHL debut. With Hinds on the ice, the Ducks won on the shot clock (16-5) and shot attempt chart (35-13) with no goals scored for or against.
“I thought he had like a heck of a game,” Quenneville said. “He had a special game when he was in training camp there, and he looked good. I thought he did everything you'd want of him in his first start. Big minutes and very effective in a lot of ways.”
Anaheim Ducks defensemen Tyson Hinds (60) handles the puck during an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, Saturday April 4, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif.Jordan Carroll - The Sporting Tribune
Anaheim Ducks defensemen Tyson Hinds (60) handles the puck during an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, Saturday April 4, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif.
Transaction News: Damian Clara, Lucas Pettersson assigned to San Diego
The AHL Gulls continue to get an infusion of talent as seasons end for others in the Anaheim prospect pool.
After 2025 No. 10 overall pick Roger McQueen made his professional debut on Friday, the Ducks announced on Saturday that Italian Olympic goaltender Damian Clara and 2024 second-round pick Lucas Pettersson were assigned to San Diego after completing their Swedish Hockey League seasons with Brynäs.
Clara, a 6-foot-6 netminder picked in the 2023 second round, played 33 games for Brynäs. With a 2.52 goals against average and .887 save percentage for a 17-15-0 record. In two playoff games, the 21-year-old won one and lost one with a 2.38 GAA and .865 save percentage.
Clara made waves in net at the Olympics, where he played four games for the host nation in Milan. While the Italians went 0-4 and Clara had a 5.13 GAA, he posted a stellar .911 save percentage against an onslaught of NHL talent.
Clara played two games with AHL San Diego last season.
Pettersson will be on his way to making his North American debut with the Gulls after spending all of his development and post-draft years in his native Sweden.
In 41 games for Brynäs, Pettersson scored 10 goals with 10 assists, and in five playoff games, the 5-foor-11, 183-pound 19-year-old registered four assists. At the World Juniors for Sweden, Pettersson scored four goals with two assists in six games.
After completing his freshman season at Providence College, McQueen signed an amateur tryout agreement and joined the Gulls to finish out the season.
The 6-foot-5, 187-pound 19-year-old debuted in a win over Bakersfield on Friday and earned an assist for his first professional point.
"Well, you see all the talent," Gulls assistant coach Michael Babcock told SanDiegoGulls.com. "He's a big body and can really, really skate, has good hands and is tight so you see all the potential that's there. In terms of his first program, I thought he was really good. So, all we can ask for in regard to that, and he's only going to get better."
San Diego is in the final playoff spot in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a five-point lead over Tucson (Utah affiliate) with six games to go.
Injury Report: Status Quo
Ducks leading goal scorer Cutter Gauthier (upper-body), captain Radko Gudas (lower-body) and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (lower-body) all remained out on Saturday night after missing the last two games.
Quenneville said on Friday morning that all three were making “a little progress,” but all remained day-to-day.
Jansen Harkins is out for four weeks after hand surgery on Monday. Ross Johnston is still labelled week-to-week with a lower body injury.
Anaheim has two days off without a travel day as one of them for the first time since the Olympic break. Plenty of time to rest up for a crucial game in the Western playoff race, as the Ducks host the chasing Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Playoff Magic Numbers
At (41-31-5) 87 points, the Ducks’ magic number (combined number of points won by Anaheim and lost by the first team out of a playoff spot) to clinch its first playoff berth since 2018 remained at seven, as all the relevant teams kept pace on a busy Saturday.
Nashville (36-31-9, 81 points) beat San Jose (36-32-7, 79 points) to jump back into the final wild card spot in the West, holding the regulation wins tiebreaker over Los Angeles (31-26-19, 81 points), which beat Toronto in overtime, 7-6.
If the Predators, Kings or Sharks won their remaining slate, they would reach 93 points. Nashville currently has the regulation wins tiebreaker on Anaheim.
Anaheim’s magic number to clinch the Pacific Division title is 11, with Edmonton capable of hitting 97 points and holding the regulation wins tiebreaker.