The Anaheim Ducks finally ousted a resilient Dallas Stars team last night with an incredible 5-4 overtime comeback win in game six. The Stars were up by two with two minutes left in the third but couldn’t hold off the siege.
Some thoughts from last night’s game.
Teemu Selanne was really going last night, and looked like the Sochi Selanne from a few months ago. He had a pair of apples off a few nifty feeds down low. More than that, he was using his legs more than any other game and was putting in a decent fore check for a 41-year-old.
Have to think Selanne’s work ethic rubbed off on some of his greenhorn teammates like Rickard Rakell and Devante Smith-Pelly, who had solid games and the coach’s trust.
Rakell was great in the dot and saw a lot of important minutes. The 20-year-old was their first round pick in 2011 and has progressed faster than the organization envisioned.
Smith-Pelly potted his first and second career playoff goals. He’s deployed as an energy guy right now, but like I said here, he’s got the hands to produce modestly in the future.
The secondary scoring finally showed up for the Ducks, and that was really the end for the Stars. Anaheim’s depth was a significant advantage between otherwise balanced teams and they capitalized.
It was the first game of the series Anaheim won without a goal from Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry.
The Ducks’ duo were checked into submission last night by the Eakin-Roussel-Garbutt line, even prompting Boudreau to split them up briefly in the third to get them going.
Didn’t last too long, as they were back together late in the game. Even if they struggle, Boudreau should keep them together and let the vets figure it out.
John Tortorella split up the Sedins for chunks of the season. How did that work out for them?
One thing the Stars aren’t afraid of: shooting the puck with the man advantage. They don’t rely on one triggerman a la the Washington Capitals (though they have some pretty lethal ones in Benn and Seguin), making the PP that much tougher to contain.
Having said that, the PP wasn’t going at all as they scored a just three goals with the man advantage in six games.
In case anyone didn’t know, Erik Cole was indeed a part of this series.
Trevor Daley had two brilliant goals – on his second, he turned Luca Sbisa inside out, drove hard to the net, and drove Frederick Andersen out of the game. He’s emerged as a top-two guy for the Stars and a leader.
Jonas Hiller was bombarded with shots when he came on in relief, and was solid. Had a huge stop on Roussel with five to go to keep the game at 4-2. Could’ve been curtains for the Ducks.
Does Hiller start round two? I think he does.
Since last year, Nick Bonino has been the quintessential glue guy for his team. He’s a PP regular, a good, two-way center, and is defensively conscience. They just win more when he’s in the lineup, simple as that.
Anaheim now awaits the winner of the San Jose-Los Angeles series; San Jose is up 3-2 with game six tonight at the Staples Center.
Freelance sports writer. Ex-intern at The Hockey News and 680 News.
