Getzlaf helps Ducks roll over Stars in Game 5

Corey Masisak - NHL.com Staff Writer

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Getzlaf helps Ducks roll over Stars in Game 5
Dallas Stars 2, Anaheim Ducks 6

Three Stars of the Game

1st

Ryan Getzlaf

C

G: 1	Shots: 2
A: 2	Hits: 2
PTS: 3	PIM: 0
+/-: 0	TOI: 19:51

2nd

Corey Perry

RW

G: 1	Shots: 2
A: 2	Hits: 4
PTS: 3	PIM: 0
+/-: 1	TOI: 16:11

3rd

Mathieu Perreault

C

G: 1	Shots: 1
A: 1	Hits: 4
PTS: 2	PIM: 14
+/-: -1	TOI: 13:17

ANAHEIM -- The Dallas Stars were all over the Anaheim Ducks late in the second period and were controlling this Western Conference First Round series game at even strength. Anaheim, which had lost two straight in the series, was clinging to a one-goal lead after 40 minutes and needed to change the course of Game 5 at Honda Center.

Three goals in less than seven minutes will do that. Jakob Silfverberg, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry scored in the opening 6:49 of the third period and the Ducks rolled to a comfortable 6-2 victory Friday and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

"I thought we were a lot more calm this time around instead of the first two games [in Anaheim]," said center Andrew Cogliano, who set up Silfverberg's goal. "The first two games, you sometimes sit back and wait for bad things to happen, but this time, we said 'Let's just keep going for it.'

"If you sit back, they're bound to score at some point. But if you attack and keep them on their heels, not only are they defending but you have a good opportunity to score. I thought it was good for [Silfverberg] to score. I thought that was a big goal for our team, and then you see what happens - guys are feeling good, guys start pressing even more because we're up two goals and you keep scoring."

Getzlaf had a goal and two assists in his return to the lineup after missing Game 4, and passed Teemu Selanne for the all-time franchise lead in Stanley Cup Playoffs points with 66. Perry also had a goal and two assists, and the Ducks chased Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen after he allowed five goals on 21 shots.

Game 6 will be Sunday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN2, RDS2, PRIME, FS-SW), where the Ducks lost Games 3 and 4.

"It's about maintaining our focus," Getzlaf said. "When we got to Dallas last time, we got a little revved up and got into some things that weren't part of our game. Tonight, we did a better job of focusing on what we need to do."

Getzlaf did not play in the previous game because of an undisclosed upper-body injury, but it is believed to be related to needing stitches on his face after being hit by a shot in Game 1. He returned, as did Selanne, who was a healthy scratch in Game 4, as coach Bruce Boudreau shuffled his lineup after the back-to-back losses in Dallas.

Silfverberg scored 67 seconds into the third period to make it a 4-2 game. Cogliano fed him near the edge of the left circle with a pass from behind the net.

Perry connected with Getzlaf on a similar play from behind the net on the opposite side of the ice at 4:30. Getzlaf now has seven points in the series despite missing a game. He leads the Ducks in scoring and is tied for second in the playoffs.

The Stars replaced Lehtonen with Tim Thomas, but that didn't help. Thomas lunged far out of his crease to try and poke the puck away from Perry near the left circle, but he rounded the goalkeeper like someone would in soccer and scored into the open net for a 6-2 lead.

"They jumped on us early [in the third] and I took a stupid penalty and that was it," Stars captain Jamie Benn said.

Dallas had plenty of chances early in this game. The Stars hit three posts and dominated the first two periods at even strength, but yielded three power-play goals in the first 40 minutes before imploding early in the third period.

Benn was dominant in the first two periods. When he was on the ice at even strength, the Stars had 14 shot attempts and yielded one. In Benn's first three shifts of the third period, his line had zero shot attempts, was scored on once and his penalty led to a fourth power-play goal against and made it a four-goal game.

"[We] mentioned in between periods that that line had [15] of the 28 shots and when they're on the ice you better pay a little bit closer attention to them," Boudreau said of the line of Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alex Chiasson. "That was the only thing we mentioned, so maybe they took a little onus on themselves and said, 'Hey, watch this guy a little closer. He's a phenomenal player.' "

Mathieu Perreault scored Anaheim's third power-play goal of the game 65 seconds into the second period. Dallas got caught being a little too aggressive in the Ducks' end while on the penalty kill, and Perreault turned a perfectly placed pass from Getzlaf into his second goal of the series.

Dallas forward Shawn Horcoff had a goal disallowed earlier in the game, but he put the puck behind Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen a second time on the rebound of a Vernon Fiddler shot at 8:19 of the second period; this one counted to get the Stars within a goal at 3-2.

"I thought in the second period we utterly dominated," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "Hit a post, hit a crossbar, spent the whole time down in their end, but it is tough. We lost the special teams battle and that was a difference."

Nick Bonino put the Ducks in front 5:32 into an eventful first period. With the Ducks on the power play, Bonino moved around Stars defenseman Jordie Benn and scored on a shot as he was falling down for his first of the series. Bonino was moved up to the top line next to Perry and Getzlaf for this game.

Ryan Garbutt speared Perry at center ice as the Ducks' star was coming onto the ice for a shift and was ejected at 9:11.

"I was coming back to the bench and got careless with my stick," Garbutt said. "It was definitely something I didn't want to do. I don't want to put the team in that position, and I'm definitely going to learn from it."

Anaheim had a five-minute power play, but Benn made it a 1-1 game at 10:00 when he took the puck from Getzlaf in the high slot in the Ducks' end and had an unimpeded path to the net to beat Frederik Andersen. But Ducks rookie Rickard Rakell scored 26 seconds later to put Anaheim ahead to stay. He deflected a Francois Beauchemin shot near the top of the crease.

The home team has won all five games in this series, a fact that's not lost on Ruff as he looks toward a must-win Game 6.

"We played well all night. We gave up an opportunity and it was in the back of the net," Ruff said. "That took some wind out of us. We were pressing up the ice and the next opportunity was in the back of the net. We were controlling play but the opportunities we gave them were in the back of the net.

"I like where our team is at. When we've been up against adversity, we've answered the call."