Ducks in 2nd round; had success vs. Flames, Canucks

The Anaheim Ducks completed a four-game sweep of the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, earning a few days off before facing either the Vancouver Canucks or Calgary Flames in the Western Conference Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Ducks' opponent could be determined as early as Thursday, when the Flames visit the Canucks in Game 5 of their first-round series (10 p.m. ET; CNBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

Calgary leads that best-of-7 series 3-1, and a victory would move the Flames into the second round for the first time since 2004, when they lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

A series against Calgary would give former Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller a chance at some revenge. Hiller signed with the Flames as a free agent last summer.

A series against Vancouver would pit Anaheim center Ryan Kesler against the team that traded him last summer. Kesler scored the tying goal in Anaheim's 5-4 overtime win in Game 3 against Winnipeg and scored twice in the third period of a 5-2, Game 4 win.

The Ducks finished first in the Pacific Division for the third consecutive season, and one reason was their success against the second-place Canucks and third-place Flames. Anaheim was 3-1-1 against each, though one of the victories against the Flames and two of the three against the Canucks came after regulation time.

Center - ANA

GOALS: 1 | ASST: 3 | PTS: 4
SOG: 11 | +/-: 3

If the Ducks play the Flames, they figure to have a significant home-ice advantage; Anaheim has won 20 consecutive regular-season games against Calgary at Honda Center, including 3-2 and 6-3 this season. The Flames' most recent regular-season victory in Anaheim came on Jan. 19, 2004; since then, they are 0-15-5 and have lost their past six visits in regulation.

Since entering the NHL in 1993, the Ducks are 31-8 with six ties against the Flames at home during the regular season. Anaheim went 2-1 in the first round of the 2006 playoffs, a series the Ducks won in seven games.

Ryan Getzlaf and Kyle Palmieri led the Ducks with four goals in five games against the Flames this season. Hiller's replacement, goaltender Frederik Andersen, was 2-0-1 against Calgary during the regular season and allowed four goals on 67 shots in the two victories.

Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan each scored three times for the Flames. Hiller had a shootout win and two regulation losses against Anaheim.

The Canucks traded Kesler to the Ducks last spring for defenseman Luca Sbisa, center Nick Bonino and two draft picks. Kesler had two assists in the five games against his former team; 11 Ducks each scored once, with defenseman Cam Fowler getting an overtime goal.

The Ducks excelled at shutting down the Canucks offense, which scored seven non-shootout goals in the five games. Vancouver's top scorers, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, each were limited to one assist.

Andersen played all five games against Vancouver; after facing 63 shots in the first two, he saw 47 in the final three, including 17 in a 4-0 shutout at Rogers Arena on Jan. 27. Eddie Lack, who started Vancouver's first four games against Calgary, went 2-0-1 against Anaheim, allowing five goals on 85 shots. Ryan Miller, who relieved Lack in Game 4, lost once in regulation and once in OT to Anaheim, surrendering five goals on 65 shots.

Vancouver's victory in regulation against Anaheim came on March 9, when the Canucks won 2-1 at home to end the Ducks' six-game winning streak at Rogers Arena and the Ducks' 9-0-1 streak against the Canucks since Vancouver's 5-0 victory on Jan. 25, 2013.

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