Ducks ride 3-goal first period to Game 1 victory over Stars

The Anaheim Ducks protected home-ice advantage and seized the initiative in their first round Stanley Cup playoff series, defeating the Dallas Stars by a final score of 4-3 on Wednesday night. 

It was nearly a Pyrrhic victory. Late in the third period, with the Stars net empty, Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf was struck in the face by a Tyler Seguin one-timer and left the ice bleeding profusely and in apparent pain. It sounds as if the injury isn't too serious, although Getzlaf was getting "stitched up" after the game.

As for the game itself, the Ducks were out-shot and out-possessed in the first frame, however, they pumped three goals past Kari Lehtonen - building a commanding lead that they never relinquished.

Ducks winger Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring for Anaheim, converting a lovely saucer pass from Nick Bonino with a sweet backhand deke. Palmieri's goal came on Anaheim's first shot of the game, oddly appropriate for a Ducks side that led the NHL in shooting percentage this season. Ryan Getzlaf and Mathieu Perrault also scored for the Ducks in the first period, as the home team kicked their opponent's teeth in right off the bat.

In the second period the Ducks continued to pour it on, receiving an early power-play goal from rugged forward Matt Beleskey to all but put the game away.

The Stars fought back from there, however. Captain Jamie Benn stuck a rebound into the Ducks net on a two-man advantage, and Colton Sceviour made things a bit more interesting with a goal late in the period.

The Ducks were the superior side for much of the third period as well, and continued to generate chances and offensive-zone time despite their two goal lead. Physical Ducks winger Patrick Maroon missed an empty net mid-way through the third period, squandering a chance to really put the contest out of reach. 

Though the Ducks continued to control play, Stars forward Tyler Seguin managed a late third period goal with a deft tip past Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen; making Game 1 a white-knuckle, one-shot game.

Interestingly, the Stars top-line of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (they played with a rotating left-wing) managed to win the marquee matchup against Corey Perry and Getzlaf from a territorial perspective. By the time Seguin scored, the Stars' best offensive players were due to get on the board (although Seguin's goal was scored when he was on a line with Erik Cole and Valeri Nichuskin).

Getzlaf and Perry's best even-strength chances came late in the third period, when Perry streaked in alone and sent a shot that Lehtonen turned away with a nice pad save. The rebound, however, caromed directly to Getzlaf, who was similarly denied by the Stars netminder.

Benn and Seguin particularly gave Anaheim's defensive pairing of Cam Fowler and Ben Lovejoy fits all night long, and Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau never adjusted to use his more veteran defensive defenders (Francois Beachemin and ex-Stars player Stephane Robidas) against the Stars key forward group.

The flip side, however, is that Anaheim's depth forwards ran roughshod over their Stars counterparts. Anaheim's group of Perrault, Maroon and Teemu Selanne were particularly dominant, and throttled the bottom-end of the Stars roster.

The Ducks and Stars will play Game 2 at the Honda Centre on Friday, with puck drop scheduled for 10 p.m. (ET).