Anaheim Ducks right wing Kyle Palmieri (left) and Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund vie for the puck during the third period. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

Reuters/Toronto

Center Mikael Backlund scored the overtime winner on a delayed penalty call as the Calgary Flames beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in Game Three of their Western Conference playoff series on Tuesday.
The Ducks still lead the series 2-1, with Game Four set for Friday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Working from the point, Backlund sent a long shot through traffic that missed everybody and hit twine for the winner.
Left winger Brandon Bollig scored his second of the post-season, while center Joe Colborne scored his first in regulation for the Flames before rookie left winger Johnny Gaudreau’s late equalizer to force overtime.
Wingers Patrick Maroon, Matt Belesky and Corey Perry scored in regulation for the Ducks, while center Ryan Getzlaf and defenseman Simon Despres each had a pair of assists. Gaudreau scored the tying goal on a five-on-three power play with the goalie pulled with 19.5 seconds left.
With Flames center Matt Stajan and Despres off on coincidental minors, Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen took a penalty for firing the puck over the glass. The Flames then capitalized in the dying seconds as Gaudreau walked in on the right wing and ripped a top-corner blast past Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, who made 17 saves in the game, to tie the game at 3-3.
Blackhawks shut out Wild to
take control of series
Right winger Patrick Kane’s first-period power-play goal was the difference in Chicago’s 1-0 win over the Wild on Tuesday, giving the Blackhawks a 3-0 stranglehold on their Western Conference semi-final playoff series. Goalie Corey Crawford added a 30-save shutout for Chicago, which quieted the raucous Minnesota crowd in the first period, then frustrated the home team throughout.
The Blackhawks, who ended Minnesota’s season in the playoffs the past two years, can sweep the series and send the Wild to the offseason again with a win on Thursday.
The Wild had 21 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk, but were an offensive no-show once again. Minnesota managed just two even-strength goals in the series so far.
It was a familiar role for Kane, who has been Minnesota’s playoff nemesis in recent years. It was his overtime goal in Game Six last season that ended the Wild’s playoff run. In 14 career playoff games against the Wild, Kane has seven goals and six assists.
Momentum swung like a pendulum in the opening period, with the Wild getting the game’s first four shots on goal, but needed Dubnyk to come up with a few highlight-reel saves as the Blackhawks offense heated up.
The Blackhawks cashed in on their first power play, as Kane netted his sixth goal of the playoffs, taking a pass from center Andrew Shaw before beating Dubnyk with a low shot from the left circle.