Beleskey helps Ducks grab 3-1 series lead

Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Beleskey still has the scoring touch.

The Anaheim winger scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Ducks went on to beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

After Calgary center Joe Colborne picked up a double-minor for an ill-advised high-sticking penalty on Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin at the end of the second period, Beleskey buried a rebound from the slot past Karri Ramo at 1:11 of the third for a 3-2 Ducks lead.

"He's big and he's strong, so a lot of times he doesn't get moved out of that spot. He was in a perfect spot today," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said about Beleskey, who has a goal in all four games of this series.

The Flames got a chance with the power play, but the Ducks killed off a 5-on-3 for 56 seconds.

Patrick Maroon backhanded the puck into an empty net with 36.7 seconds left to send Calgary to the brink.

Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for the Ducks, who will look to extinguish the Flames at home on Sunday. Including the regular season and playoffs, the Ducks have won 21 straight games at Honda Center against the Flames.

Ramo also stopped 25 shots in Calgary's first home loss this postseason.

There was a wild start to the game, as the teams combined for three goals in the opening six minutes.

Calgary's Lance Bouma, playing for the first time since April 7, was called for an early high-sticking penalty.

On the ensuing power play, Jakob Silfverberg scored on the rush, beating Ramo over the glove with his wrist shot from the right circle at the 3:58 mark.

Sean Monahan tied it for the Flames 39 seconds later after Johnny Gaudreau put on a dazzling display of stickhandling. Gaudreau dangled around Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm on his way to the crease, where Monahan tapped in a rebound.

Bruising forward Micheal Ferland blasted the puck past Andersen on the short side from the left circle to give Calgary a 2-1 lead at 5:44.

Ferland was back in the lineup after missing Games 2 and 3 with an undisclosed injury that he suffered in the series opener against the Ducks. Bouma had been sidelined with an upper-body injury.

"Micheal Ferland and Lance Bouma really helped us," said Flames coach Bob Hartley. "I thought that we brought some size in the lineup. We had a good forechecking game."

Gaudreau tried to stickhandle out of his own zone late in the second period and had his pocket picked by Andrew Cogliano, who beat Ramo five-hole for the tying goal with 3:18 remaining.

Seconds before Colborne's foolish penalty, Monahan rang a shot off the post.

Game Notes

Beleskey became the second Ducks player to score in the first four games of a playoff series. Franchise icon Teemu Selanne accomplished the feat against the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the 2011 playoffs ... The Flames had won their last four Game 4s when facing a 2-1 series deficit ... Beauchemin collected two assists.