Ducks expecting a more physical game against the Jets tonight

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This article was published 18/04/2015 (3799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. – More of the same say the Anaheim Ducks.

And why not? The Ducks out-scored, out-shot and out-hit the Winnipeg Jets in Thursday’s series opener and they’re looking for a repeat tonight (9:30 p.m., TSN1290, Sportsnet) in Game 2.

“To win is important. Everything in Game 2 through Game 7 gets ramped up a bit. Composure will be important. But at the same time, just because we’re up 1-0 in the series, doesn’t mean we can let up. We have to be better because I know they’ll be better,” said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau after his team’s morning skate on Saturday.

Anaheim took a 1-0 series lead with a 4-2 win over the Jets in Game 1. Winnipeg led 2-1 after two periods before the Ducks breezed by them with three third period goals.

Winnipeg was good for 30 minutes. The Ducks owned the final 30 or so.

The Ducks have been through this before and it shows. They follow a strict routine with no variance. They took to the ice at 10 a.m. and were done their official on ice work just 20 minutes later. They opened their dressing room at 10:25 a.m. for player questions and then closed it at 10:44 a.m. for a meeting.

Same drill. Just a different day. Captain Ryan Getzlaf says that’s what has to happen tonight as well.

“You always want to take care of your own building and that’s why we worked so hard in the regular season – to get home ice. We’d like to keep it,” said Getzlaf. “We have to go out with the same mentality. I thought we played Game 1 with a lot of excitement. We controlled our emotion right from the start and we’re going to try and do that again tonight.”

Getzlaf and linemate Corey Perry accounted for three of Anaheim’s goals in Game 1 but he says the rest of his team was effective as well.

“Secondary scoring is always important in the playoffs,” said Getzlaf. “It’s all about having everyone in your lineup going. I thought we had that in Game 1. Everybody played great from top to bottom.”

Veteran defenceman Francois Beauchemin expects the Jets to hit the ice with a lot of will and emotion tonight.

“I’ve never heard of a team that wanted to go down 2-0 in a series,” stated Beauchemin. “We need to keep improving and getting better. They’re going to be desperate. Our job is match their work ethic. Most of it is mental. You have to be mentally prepared. They’ll be more physical than the other night. We have to stay with them in all areas.”

The Ducks showed no indications of any lineup changes for tonight and Frederik Andersen is expected to be in goal again.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @garylawless

 

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