With the number of games remaining in the 2024-25 season down to single digits, the Anaheim Ducks took to the road for a two-game trip to Western Canada, starting on Thursday with a matchup against the Calgary Flames.

The Ducks were coming off of a shootout win on Tuesday in which they fended off a comeback from the San Jose Sharks and entered Thursday having won three of their previous four games.

The Flames came into this game hoping to remain relevant in the Western Conference wild card standings and creep within five points of the Minnesota Wild with a game in hand. They had only logged one win in their prior four games.

Brett Leason was inserted into the lineup in place of Nikita Neserenko on the fourth line. Pavel Mintyukov was given the night off as a healthy scratch in favor of Oliver Kylington, who slotted in on the left side of Drew Helleson.

John Gibson received the start in net for the Ducks in this game. He saved 23 of the 26 shots he faced before he was forced to exit the game after the second period. He has started six games since the NHL 4 Nations break and has only been able to finish half of them.

Gibson was relieved by Lukas Dostal, who saved seven of eight shots in the third period.

In net for Calgary was rookie sensation Dustin Wolf, who stopped 26 of the 27 shots Anaheim was able to get through to him.

Here are my notes from this game:

Breakout-Anaheim didn’t have much trouble connecting on first outlets out of the defensive zone, but they did have trouble manufacturing any sort of impactful offense from those passes. Calgary did well to always have an aggressive pinching defenseman down the board and a high or backtracking F3 to cover and thwart any rush threat.

The Flames were able to pounce on second passes out of the zone and quickly turn them up ice for counterattacks, keeping Anaheim’s defense on their heels.

Trevor Zegras-This was a rare undetailed effort from Zegras, especially low in the defensive zone. Because of the constant motion of the Flames’ attackers, he was often tasked with assuming traditional center responsibilities as the low forward in the defensive zone, but often lost his assignment, was late to react, and became too puck-focused away from it.

Olen Zellweger-Zellweger may have been the Ducks' best player in this game. He was playing free and active in all three zones, looking to jump into rushes and search for passing lanes. He trusted his elite skating to recover and protected the middle of the ice well.

Radko Gudas-Gudas’ lack of lateral mobility was apparent when defending Calgary’s speed on counterattacks. An adjustment to angling techniques will be necessary if he’s to limit the number of times forwards are going to drive or make moves to the outside.

He does well when making simple plays with the puck on his stick, but judgment and overcommitments without the puck often take him out of plays.

The Ducks will next travel to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday for a 1 pm PST matinee.

"PLAYOFFS OR BUST" remains a live Rangers theme and that's a fact.

But the final make-it-or fail  result will hinge on the remaining games scheduled for the Rangers and its competitors.

Realistically, the schedule works against New York. That starts with the fact that the Montreal Canadiens won over Boston last night.

The victory leapfrogged the Habs over New York for the final Wild Card position. So, let's check out the homestretch schedule for the WC contenders from here to the Finish Line.

RANGERS: The Blueshirts are in Newark tomorrow afternoon. After that they have six more games: Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Islanders, Hurricanes, Panthers and Tampa again.

CANADIENS: Leading for the remaining Wild Card spot, Montreal next faces Nashville, Detroit, Ottawa, Toronto, Chicago and Carolina.

COLUMBUS: Having lost to Colorado, the Blue Jackets still have games in hand on their rivals. Next up for the BJ's are Toronto, Ottawa (home and home), Buffalo, Washington (home and home) followed by Philadelphia and concluding with the Islanders.

DETROIT: Carolina, Panthers, Habs, Panthers, Dallas, New Jersey and Toronto.

FORECAST: The Maven's Supreme Analyst, Jess Rubenstein, puts Montreal in the Catbird Seat and insists that the Canadiens will get the final plum.

"The Habs have the easiest schedule as they play just three playoff contenders," says Rubenstein. "Starting tomorrow in New Jersey, the Rangers will face a total of five playoff contenders.

"Columbus will have to play six of the better teams while Detroit has the worst schedule – all seven remaining games are against contenders."

With a two-game winning streak on the line tomorrow against New Jersey, the Rangers are now in "Mustwinland" – and had better have their Victory visas ready!

Otherwise it will be a question of better luck next time! And "next time" – or next year – may never be!

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they have recalled forward Noah Ostlund from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. 

Seeing Ostlund get called up to the Sabres is entirely understandable, as he has been red-hot with Rochester. The 2022 first-round pick currently has an eight-game point streak with the club, posting eight goals and five assists over that span. Furthermore, he has scored at least one goal in each of his last six AHL games.

Due to his excellent play, Ostlund was named AHL Rookie of the Month for March. In addition, he was named the AHL's Player of the Week from March 21 to March 30.

After recording just one point in his first 12 games with Rochester this season, Ostlund now has 18 goals, 17 assists, and 35 points in his last 32 games. He has been only getting better as he continues to adjust to the AHL level, and he is now getting this big opportunity with the Sabres because of it. 

It will now be intriguing to see how much of an impact Ostlund makes with the Sabres during his call-up from here. When noting that he is one of the Sabres' top prospects, he is a player fans should watch very closely. 

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