Ducks find composure in crucial Game 4 win against Calgary

The Anaheim Ducks' goalie clenched his fists inside of his gloves and pumped his fists in the waning moments of Friday night's Stanley Cup Playoff game. It might be a lasting image of this series. Emotions are so rarely shown by guys not named Corey Perry, and there's a reason for that. 

The Ducks regained their control in a 4-2 Game 4 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome, to go up 3-1 on the Flames in the second round series, but it was what they needed in order to exhibit such control that led them to victory. 

The scoresheet will tell you that the Ducks' special teams won the game, but had they not gotten out of their own way, they could have been heading back to Anaheim under far different circumstances. This game was won by composure. 

"Early, we kind of were sitting back a little," said winger Matt Beleskey. "The last eight minutes of that first period we started playing our game, getting on the body and getting on the forecheck. We carried it through the last minute."

The game was highlighted by a dominant special teams performance, but being able to stay calm through the penalties and the dramatic momentum shifts was the difference-maker. A frenzied first period was overcame, a 5-on-3 was cooly killed off and the player that could have won the game for the Flames - Johnny Gaudreau - was turned aside by goalie Frederik Andersen, in a save that set the tone for the rest of the night.

"That was Freddie's turning point for me because he looked shaky in the first period," said Ducks' coach Bruce Boudreau. "I was wondering how he was handling the pressure and then that save he made on Gaudreau – all of a sudden it was like a calmness come over him. And I thought for the rest of the game he was spectacular."

The first period was shaky for more than just Andersen. 

The crowd was taken out early when Jakob Silfverberg sniped home a goal on the power play, but it was put back into the equation immediately when the Flames scored two quick goals. The Ducks were suddenly out of sorts. They were flying all over the place without much organization, making poor plays and poor decisions in their own zone. 

But they found their own game, and it carried them through.

"I think we weathered the storm as much as we could in the first," said winger Andrew Cogliano. "They did a good job of really taking it to us, but we did a good job of just staying with it and slowing things down."

In the second period, Cogliano caught Gaudreau off guard in front of his net and tied the game. And their composure carried them through a roller-coaster of a third period.

Starting on four-minute power play, Beleskey capitalized to take back a lead. But it was slim, and late in the period, Cogliano followed Kyle Palmieri to the penalty box to give the Flames a two-man advantage. It could have ended disastrous, but the Ducks killed them both off. 

"You get the fresh ice on the power play, that was realty good. The five-on-three penalty kill, they're huge momentum changers when you can kill a five-on-three," Boudreau said. "You watch most games, teams that kill the five-on-three win. Teams that don't score on that usually don't succeed. We got lucky and got a great kill."

They've now allowed only three power play goals in 28 chances. 

"I think we've just continued to get better and better (on the kill) as the year has gone on,"  Cogliano said. "We've got confident guys out there killing and like I said, they just know their job. And when you know your job, you have a game plan and you feel comfortable doing it, it's just easier to execute."

Throw all of the obstacles in Anaheim's way. The only thing that can really get in the way of the Ducks right now is themselves. Adversity seems to be no match for such a level-headed group.

"I think we were all excited to get things going and maybe just thinking a little too much. But once we found our groove, we just stuck with it," Beleskey said. "It's all the guys - it's coaches, it's young guys, it's old guys. That's the way our team has been working. We try and pick each other up, calm each other down and stay pretty even. And we did."