Lindholm scores, DeSimone nets first goal, and Markstrom wins 200th as Flames top Ducks 3-0
Elias Lindholm had a goal and two assists, Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for his 200th career win and the Calgary Flames extended their winning streak to a season-best three games with a 3-0 victory Thursday night over the Anaheim Ducks.
Nick DeSimone scored his first career goal 2:24 into the opening period and A.J. Greer also scored as the Flames ended a four-game road losing streak.
Lukas Dostal made 41 saves for Anaheim, which had won two in a row. Ducks goalie John Gibson was available but occupied a backup role after missing a game this week following the birth of his child.
Forward Mason McTavish and defenseman Jamie Drysdale both returned to the ice for the Ducks. McTavish (upper body) missed the previous seven games and Drysdale (lower body) was out the previous 29 games.
Anaheim fell to 3-14 since Nov. 15 and lost the opener of a season-long eight-game homestand.
DeSimone was trailing the play early in the game when he took a pass from Connor Zary near the blue line and fired a shot from the deep slot past Dostal. The quick score was still a long time coming for the 29-year-old, who delivered in his 17th career game over the past two seasons.
The Flames made it 2-0 at 7:49 of the second period after shot by the Ducks Brett Leason was blocked by Calgary's Rasmus Andersson. Nazem Kadri sent a centering pass to Lindholm while on the forward rush and he scored his eighth of the season.
Greer scored into an empty net at 18:00 of the third period, his sixth.
Markstrom made 13 saves in the first period and nine in the second on the way to his first shutout of the season and eighth win. He now has 90 wins in four seasons with the Flames after 99 with the Vancouver Canucks and 11 with the Florida Panthers.
The Ducks were without rookie forward Leo Carlsson for the final 9:24 after he went down near center ice with an apparent right leg injury.
UP NEXT
Flames: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Ducks: Home vs. the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
