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Ducks Beat Flames At Home For 18th Straight Time

ANAHEIM (AP) — Dustin Penner had two goals and Saku Koivu had two assists in his long-awaited return to the lineup, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory Friday over Calgary.

It was the Ducks' 18th win in a row over the Flames at home. The streak is the Ducks' longest against any opponent at Honda Center. Calgary hasn't beaten Anaheim on the road since Jan. 19, 2004; only three players on Calgary's current roster had made their NHL debut by then: Michael Cammalleri, Jiri Hudler and Matt Stajan.

Sami Vatanen and Corey Perry scored 54 seconds apart in the first period. Perry and Andrew Cogliano each had a goal and an assist during Anaheim's 42-shot barrage, and rookie Frederik Andersen made 19 saves for the defending Pacific Division champions, who are off to a franchise-best 10-0-1 start at home.

Anaheim is the only NHL team that hasn't lost at home in regulation. New Jersey beat the Ducks 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 20.

Ladislav Smid and David Jones scored second-period goals for the Flames. They have won only two of 11 games since beating the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in overtime on Nov. 3 at Chicago.

Calgary played without impressive rookie Sean Monahan, sidelined with a non-displaced hairline fracture in his left foot. Defenseman Dennis Wideman also missed his first game of the season because of a broken left hand.

The Ducks were not assessed a penalty for only the fifth time in club history.

Anaheim center Nick Bonino, who signed a three-year, $5.7 million contract extension Thursday, got an assist on Penner's goal to help the Ducks extend their lead to 3-0. Ryan Getzlaf faked a 50-foot slap shot on a power play and found Penner at the left of the crease for his eighth goal and fourth in three games.

The Ducks, who gave up three third-period goals in a 53-second span on Tuesday at Dallas, were outshooting Calgary 20-6 with a 3-0 lead when Smid got his second goal of the season. It came on a 50-foot wrist shot from the left point that caromed off Andersen's glove and trickled across the goal line.

Koivu, who missed 15 games with an upper body injury, started on a line between Cogliano and Daniel Winnik. Cogliano finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Winnik midway in the second period, beating Reto Berra with a short backhander to the stick side.

Jones narrowed the gap to 4-2 less than 4 minutes later with an unassisted goal, beating Andersen to the short side with a 30-foot wrist shot after Koivu turned over the puck. But Penner put it away with his ninth of the season in the third period, causing Calgary coach Bob Hartley to replace Berra with Karri Ramo.

Vatanen opened the scoring with a one-timer from the top of the right circle with Berra way out of position. Perry made it 2-0 with a redirection of Ben Lovejoy's long slap shot.

NOTES: The Flames have only one regulation victory in their last 28 visits to Anaheim overall. ... The Ducks were 1 for 21 on the power play in their previous eight games against Calgary. ... The Flames are 0-10-2 when trailing after two periods. ... The Ducks were 8-4-3 in Koivu's absence. ... The Ducks are 7-3-3 when they've played at home on the day after Thanksgiving. ... Anaheim D Hampus Lindholm's plus-14 rating is the best among rookies.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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