Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Calgary Flames (3-0-2) and Anaheim Ducks (4-1-0) take the ice against each other live from the Honda Center in Anaheim. The game can be live streamed here. Calgary fans can hear all the hard-hitting action by tuning their radios to 960 The Fan, while Anaheim fans can listen in on KLAA-AM 830.
In the first of four meetings between these Pacific Division rivals, the Ducks enter with momentum after Anaheim picked up right where it left off last year when it won the division by cruising out of the gate and winning four of its first five games, while Calgary has been a surprise, not losing any regulation games through its first five after finishing as one of the NHL's worst teams last year.
The Flames defense has looked strong so far this season, especially in back-to-back 3-2 victories over the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils at home, as Calgary carries a two-game winning streak on the road. 2013 first-round draft pick Sean Monahan scored the game-winner against the Devils on Friday.
"It's pretty crazy, growing up watching [Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur] play and now scoring a goal on him," Monahan said per NHL.com. "It's pretty awesome, and it's even better it's a game-winner."
The Ducks, meanwhile, come in rolling after the team dropped its opening game to the Colorado Avalanche 6-1 and then rolled off four straight victories en route to tonight's contest. The Ducks paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of the franchise and wore throwback sweaters in their most recent win over the Ottawa Senators in a 4-1 victory where Anaheim rattled off a franchise-record 56 shots.
"That's the way we want to play," Corey Perry told NHL.com. "We want to shoot as many pucks on the net as we can. Good things are going to happen when you start doing that. You can see it in the last couple of games."
Perry paces the Ducks with six points off of three goals and three assists while Jakob Silfverberg leads the team with four goals and has added one assist for five points.
While Monahan scored the game-winner for the Flames against the Devils, he also leads the team with four goals and has two assists for six points in his first five career games. Jiri Hudler paces the team with seven points off of two goals and five assists while team captain Mark Giordano has six points on two goals and four assists.
In net, Anaheim boasts a 1-2 punch with backstop Jonas Hiller, who has yet to lose this season while posting a 3-0-0 record with a 1.30 GAA and a .959 save percentage, and Viktor Fasth, who was great last year but has struggled through two games this season, posting a 1-1-0 record with a 4.00 GAA and a .826 save percentage.
Calgary, meanwhile, turns to Joey MacDonald in net after Miikka Kiprusoff opted for retirement. MacDonald is 3-0-1 and has allowed four goals through 12 starts thus far this season while boasting a 2.98 GAA and a .897 save percentage.
Both teams are off to hot starts but only one will emerge from this game victorious when the lights come on at Honda Center for some hockey tonight.
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