ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf hates missing hockey games, and the Anaheim Ducks just arent the same when their captain isnt there. After one agonizing playoff game away, Getzlaf came roaring back to put the Ducks in command of their series with Dallas. Getzlaf had a goal and two assists in his return from injury, and the Ducks scored four power-play goals in a 6-2 victory over the Stars on Friday night to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series. Getzlaf became the Ducks career post-season scoring leader with a dynamic performance that betrayed no problems from his undisclosed upper-body injury -- except maybe, he acknowledged, on a horrendous first-period giveaway to Jamie Benn for Dallas first goal. "I thought I got better as the game went on," Getzlaf said. "I felt more and more comfortable. The crowd was unbelievable. Everything was fired right up. They give us so much energy." Game 6 is Sunday in Dallas. The Ducks captain, who got hit in the face with a slap shot in the series opener, now has 66 playoff points, surpassing Teemu Selannes 64 in franchise history. Corey Perry also had a goal and two assists for the top-seeded Ducks, who broke open a tight game early in the third period and confidently moved to the brink of the second round after dropping the last two games in Dallas. Getzlaf and Perry led the way, putting Anaheim one win away from just its second playoff series victory since its only Stanley Cup title in 2007. "Every time you get your captain back, its going to make you feel better," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Its like your big brother is back. Guys felt a little more secure, and he came out and had a great game." Nick Bonino, Mathieu Perreault, Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell also scored for Anaheim, which set a franchise record for playoff power-play goals. The Ducks chased Kari Lehtonen with five goals on their first 21 shots. Shawn Horcoff also scored for the Stars, who couldnt score on seven power-play chances. Despite the lopsided final score, the Stars regretted a missed opportunity. "The second period, we just utterly dominated," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "We hit post. We hit crossbar. Spent the whole time down in their end. Its tough. We lost the special-teams battle, which was the difference tonight." Frederik Andersen made 34 saves after getting pulled from Game 4, but the Ducks gave him plenty of offensive cushion in a hard-hitting, whistle-filled game. Anaheim scored three goals in the first seven minutes of the third period and set a club playoff record for power-play goals, scoring at least one in every period. Selanne also returned to the Ducks lineup after coach Bruce Boudreau kept him out of Game 4 as a healthy scratch, infuriating most of the Anaheim fan base. The home team has won every game in this bad-tempered, physical series, and it got even uglier when Dallas forward Ryan Garbutt got a game misconduct in the first period of Game 5 for spearing Perry in the groin, leaving the Ducks top goal-scorer on the ice in agony during a line change. "I was just coming back to the bench and got careless with my stick," Garbutt said. "It was deliberate," Boudreau countered. "It wasnt an accident. It was pretty dirty." After Boninos opening goal, Anaheim had a five-minute power play after Garbutts spearing penalty. After Getzlaf handed Benn his third goal of the series, the Ducks went back ahead 26 seconds later when Francois Beauchemins slap shot deflected off Rakell, the 20-year-old Swedish rookie appearing in just his second career playoff game. Horcoff trimmed Anaheims lead with his first goal of the series on a loose puck in the slot. After the Ducks barely thwarted a prolonged Dallas push to close the second period, Silfverberg got his first goal of the series early in the third with a one-timer off a behind-the-net pass from Cogliano. "I thought our second period was pretty good," Benn said. "We came in here, tried to regroup and come out with the same effort, but they jumped on us early. We took a stupid penalty, and that was it." Getzlaf chased Lehtonen after Perry forced a turnover by Brenden Dillon. Perry then got the Ducks fourth power-play goal 2:19 later after Trevor Daley left him alone in front of Tim Thomas, the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy winner with Boston. NOTES: The Ducks scratched D Hampus Lindholm with a stiff neck and dressed D Luca Sbisa for the first time in the series. Boudreau praised Sbisas performance. ... Dillon suited up for the Stars for the first time in the series after getting hurt late in the regular season. Dallas scratched D Patrik Nemeth, who got injured in Game 4. .... Rakell, who has 22 games of regular-season NHL experience, became the first player in Ducks history to score his first career goal in the post-season. Fake Vans For Sale . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Fake Vans From China . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. http://www.fakevans.com/. Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova. Fake Vans Outlet . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Fake Vans SK8 . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie.REGINA -- Young, loose and happy to be here. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats go into the 101st Grey Cup with very little pressure and a lot of love. A Hamilton team with 18 CFL rookies on the roster, without a stadium and sometimes hot water, has come a very long way this season. Their journey has taken them all the way to Saskatchewan, where the predominant colour in winter is white but the locals bleed green. Rider Nation expects a lot from the Roughriders. "Carrying the Weight of a Nation," was the headline in Saturdays Regina Leader-Post. City buses have been flashing "Go Riders Go" all week as they snake through the snowy roads. The underdog Tiger-Cats are hoping to spoil the party. And their motivation has been ramped up by the Rider love-in this week, including the CFL awards show. "Everything seemed like it was about Saskatchewan," said Hamilton linebacker Brandon Isaac, who won the Cup last year as an Argo. "That got a lot of guys fired up, got the blood boiling." Added veteran quarterback Henry Burris: "At the awards show it was like Hey, welcome to history, history, history, history, history. ... Of course they werent talking about us and then all of a sudden it was like Hey. dont forget Hamilton is here." The Ticats understand they are in enemy territory but have nevertheless turned Rider Pride into a big chip on their black-and-gold shoulders. It has made for the ultimate us-against-the world scenario. Its been that way all season. While their new stadium is being built, the Ticats spent the year commuting to McMaster for practice and Guelph for games. "For all the things that people said we couldnt overcome and all the different obstacles that have been thrown at us ... we should have just folded the tent and just went home before the season started," said Burris. "We believed in ourselves, and the talent that we had in that (locker) room," he added. "All we had to do is really commit ourselves and sacrifice everything away from football and truly commit ourselves to making ourselves a better team." Coach Kent Austin has little sympathy for issues like cold showers and other annoying byproducts of their nomadic season. That message has trickled down to his players. "Its something you put up with," Austin said. "No big deal. Welcome to the game of life. "We dont whine about things like that or make excuses." Hamilton (10-8) started the season 1-4 but finished it on a 4-1 run, before adding two more victories in the post-season. The hours spent on buses has made for a team that genuinely enjoys its own company. "You enjoy coming to work every day," Isaac said of the teams relaxed vibe, " because you dont know whats going to happen but you know something goods going to happen."t; Burris, one of several influential veterans on the team, demonstrated that when he broke into an Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation as he met the media after a short practice.dddddddddddd The Ticats spent no more than half a hour Saturday on the chilly Mosaic Stadium field where the temperature was minus-16 and felt like minus-25. The forecast is better for Sundays kickoff at minus-three or four. The frigid conditions this week were new to many of the Tiger-Cats and more than a few looked uncomfortable as they stepped out onto the frozen tundra earlier in the week. Isaac, a native of South Carolina, called the frigid practice conditions "brutal" but said the team has dealt with it. Burris also noted that the Ticats had to play in plenty of cold, wet, windy and ugly conditions in Guelph. "We faced it all. Through it all, weve trumped it and we found ways to achieve triumph through those situations. So our team has been mentally prepared for whatever Mother Nature has thrown at us." And the 38-year-old Burris says that his young teammates understand that while cold is fleeting, a CFL championship is for ever. "To see how the way our guys have embraced this moment. They truly understand that if this all its going to take for us to win a championship, then hey were all up for it." Hamilton has weapons to get the job done. Led by Burris (4,927 yards), the Tiger-Cats were second to Toronto in passing while rookie C.J. Gable (782 yards) was fourth in the league in rushing. But Hamilton ranked sixth in scoring and gave up a league-high 65 sacks. And while Burris once played in Regina, Gable -- a California boy -- clearly is no fan of the cold. The Tiger-Cat defence ranked fifth in the league in points yielded at 26.0 a game (Saskatchewan led at 22.1) and has a league-worst 35 sacks. It faces a Roughrider offence that ranked second in the league in scoring (519 points). Hamilton has won the Grey Cup 15 times including eight as the Tiger-Cats. The last championship came in 1999 in a 32-21 win over Calgary at B.C. Place in Hamiltons last trip to the final. The Tiger-Cats are poised to move into their new stadium next season and owner Bob Young says the team is headed to financial stability for the first time in 42 years. A Grey Cup win would be a big shiny ribbon on that bow. Austin, who preaches accountability but gives his players room to breathe, said his team understands there are many people depending on them Sunday. "I told our players when you take the field, when you prepare during the week, youre not just doing it for your teammates ... it should matter to everybody that theres other people that it matters to. "It doesnt matter where theyre at in the organization, we have a lot of people counting on this going well. That should matter to you." ' ' '
|
Board Statistics
The forum has 4204
topics
and
4207
posts.
|
Einfach ein eigenes Xobor Forum erstellen |