Ducks take 2-0 series lead against Stars

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Jen D’Amico

Captain Ryan Getzlaf was announced to a deafening roar at Honda Center for game 2 donning a new daddy glow, that happened to include 32 stitches underneath his bottom lip. As if taking a puck to the face in Wednesday night’s game wasn’t exciting enough, Getzlaf and his wife welcomed their third child, a daughter (Willa), in the early hours on Friday morning. Coach Boudreau allowed him to miss morning skate to get some rest from the action packed last few days, but Ryan and his brand new shiny chin guard were ready to shake off the near comeback from Dallas in game 1 on Wednesday night.

Said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, “If I was a player and I saw my captain taking a puck to the face and coming back the next day it would make me do whatever I could to help this team win.”

And win they did.

The Ducks once again did not start goalie Jonas Hiller, who has had a pretty decent season this far, and has handed over only 13 losses in regular season play. However, the decision was made to start rookie Frederik Andersen, who made his NHL debut against the Stars back in October where he delivered 2 shutout periods. Captain Getzlaf praised his outstanding efforts tonight as he posted 36 saves.

The first period was riddled with penalties from both teams, who also each posted a goal.

Corey Perry ended a 10 playoff goal drought unassisted, with the second top shelf goal over Lehtonen’s shoulder of the night, taking the Ducks to a 2-1 lead into the third. It was his first playoff goal since April 2011, and decent payback for the beating he took from Trevor Daley in the first period.

Andrew Cogliano made it a 2 goal push for the Ducks early in the third, with a shorthanded goal while Corey Perry was serving a delay of game penalty. However, Dallas answered back when a loose puck found Ryan Garbutt in front, who puts it past Andersen at the 9:58 mark of the third period.

With less than 5 minutes left, Andersen made a monster save with players from both sides slapping down a bouncing puck that went wild. Getzlaf took a tripping penalty at the 3 minute mark. 1:27 time out Dallas which resulted in Lehtonen warming the bench as the whistle blew again, giving the Stars a 6-4 advantage. Getzlaf fails to land an open net goal, but it’s no matter to Anaheim who takes game 2 with a one goal lead, making it their 6th win in a row.

Also to note is Devante Smith-Pelly who spent 13 minutes on the ice tonight,  replacing Matt Beleskey on the top line who is out with a lower body injury in the Anaheim lineup. This marks Smith-Pelly’s NHL playoff debut.

The teams will meet again for Game 3 at 6:30 pm on Monday in Dallas, who is playing in their first playoff series since 2008.