Ducks win game of inches

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This article was published 16/04/2015 (3799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — A razor-thin video review decided Thursday’s Stanley Cup playoff opener between the Winnipeg Jets and Anaheim Ducks.

Corey Perry’s second goal of the game, pushing the puck barely across the goal line against the pad of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, was the winner with 6:39 to play as the Ducks prevailed 4-2 in Game 1 at Honda Center.

Play continued for 62 more seconds before there was a stoppage of play and when the NHL’s Toronto war room reviewed the play, it was evident the puck had crossed the line after a valiant save by Pavelec.

“I had a feeling it was in,” Perry said. “His pad was back over the line on my first shot. I came back to the bench and asked our assistant coach and our video guy and he confirmed it was in with the overhead (camera).”

The goal snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Ducks yet another third-period comeback this season. Anaheim, trailing 2-1 after Thursday’s second period, rallied 18 times in third periods during the regular season to win games in which it trailed, an NHL record.

“We’ve done this all year,” Perry said. “It doesn’t change because it’s the playoffs. Yeah it gets harder but it doesn’t change. I thought the second half of the second period we started to play our game.”

Game 2 goes here on Saturday night.

After Perry’s goal was reviewed and confirmed, the Ducks had to scramble to protect their lead.

The play was eventually stopped when Ducks defenceman Clayton Stone was nabbed for high-sticking Jets’ Adam Lowry. By rule, the penalty was enforced, despite the time windback, but the Jets could not capitalize, though they had serious pressure.

Anaheim then added its insurance goal when MIchael Frolik was called late for boarding and Ryan Getzlaf fired a hard one over Pavelec’s shoulder.

The teams have now played four times this season and Anaheim’s won them all.

Lead gone

The Jets were unable to kill off their first penalty of the night, a roughing infraction to Mark Scheifele in the offensive zone, and after the whistle.

Perry delivered the 2-2 goal as the advantage carried into the third period, scoring at 1:09 when he was parked in just the right place at the edge of Pavelec’s crease.

Scheifele, likely having learned a tough lesson in his first NHL playoff game, was glum afterward.

“It was just a hockey play,” he said of the poke in the face he gave Ryan Kesler that earned him the penalty. “He gave me a slash and I pushed him back. Obviously I wish I could take it back, but I can’t focus on that too much. It’s done and over with, and all we can do is think about the next game.

“We played good through 40 and they kind of took it to us in the third. We played a pretty solid game. A few mishaps, but all we can do is regroup. We can be mad about it tonight and regroup tomorrow. We can’t dwell on it too much. The series isn’t won in one game, and we know it’s going to be a battle.”

Drew Stafford struck for his fourth career playoff game and his first since 2011, giving the Jets the lead five minutes into the second period.

Winnipeg had traversed the minefield of the first period — its first playoff outing since the relocation — with the score tied at one.

Stafford came patiently down the left wing on a rush, which developed into a three-on-two. He held the puck in the circle until the Ducks defender dropped to the ice, then whipped a high, hard shot over the stick-side shoulder of goalie Frederik Andersen.

Pressure increasing

When Stafford established the Jets’ first lead of the game, the Ducks began to push back and push hard.

The Jets started to see Anaheim’s big line more often as the second wore on and Anaheim, increasing its pace, had a few segments of hemming the Jets in their own end.

Pavelec was good at finding the puck in traffic, however, and kept the home team at bay as the pressure mounted in the middle frame.

Eventful start

The game began with adrenaline and some nerves.

Pavelec was unable to find Sami Vatanen’s point shot, his vision blocked by Anaheim’s Emerson Etem just 1:57 into the game. The Ducks had worked a fumbled puck by Jets captain Andrew Ladd to the point and across the blueline for the shot.

But the Jets didn’t mope on the goal.

Jacob Trouba saw teammate Adam Lowry headed quickly to the net and put the puck where Lowry could deflect it past Andersen.

The equalizer came just 49 seconds after Vatanen’s goal and the playoff opener had two markers before three minutes had gone by.

Wisniewski out

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau decided to make James Wisniewski his seventh and scratched defenceman for the opener, raising a few eyebrows.

Wisniewski had eight goals and 34 points worth of offence during the regular season but Boudreau saw an improving Clayton Stoner, more of a hard, defensive player late in the regular season and said the decision was not difficult.

Stoner’s health improved towards the end of the season as well and the coach cited his strong play for Minnesota in last spring’s playoffs as an asset.

The Ducks were also missing winger Nate Thompson for Game 1. He was injured during last Saturday’s final regular-season game at Arizona.

 

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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