2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Prediction Round 2

Calgary Flames vs. Anaheim Ducks

Speaking of teams on fire, how about the Calgary Flames (no pun intended). The Flames scratched and clawed through a very physical and exciting series between the rival Canucks. This time around, the Flames (P-3) will face off against the dynamic duo of the Anaheim Ducks (P-1).

What more can you say about Calgary? They’re young, exhilarating, and also a pretty good hockey team. The Flames proved me wrong, they’re no fluke. Forget the injury to Captain Mark Giordano, these guys are awesome without him. Jonas Hiller faces off against his former team, which will surely be an interesting dynamic. On the other side of the match-up, those Anaheim Ducks are also pretty damn good.

The Ducks finished off the Winnipeg Jets in a tough 4 game series. Although it was a sweep, the Jets gave Anaheim lots of fits, and a few bounces here and there and we could have had a completely different story. Resiliency came into play for the Ducks just as it has all-year, fending off 3rd period leads and finding ways to win. The thing is, the Flames have also been just as resilient. Something has to give.

Here’s an interesting stat, the Anaheim Ducks have defeated the Calgary Flames 20 times IN A ROW at the Honda Center. I understand that both these teams had different rosters when this streak started but a 20 game winning streak at home is no joke.

In this series I’m going with the favorites, the Anaheim Ducks. Calgary has been playing great and deserves to be in this spot, but the Ducks are just too talented. The Flames simply don’t have an answer for Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. I believe that Giordano’s injury will show this series, as the Flames fail to have a shutdown defense-men. Hudler-Monahan-Gaudreau will do their fair share, but Calgary simply doesn’t have the horses. Home-ice will play a huge role in this series. Ducks in 5.