Ducks 3, Red Wings 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Teemu Selanne scored the game-winning goal early in the third period and the Anaheim Ducks earned a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in the opening game of this Western Conference quarterfinal before a sold-out crowd of 17,200 at Honda Center on Tuesday night.
The 42-year-old Selanne, playing in his 12th postseason and eighth with the Ducks, scored on a power play at 1:29 of the third after fielding a pass from defenseman Ben Lovejoy and lighting up the lamp with a shot from the left circle. It came with only 13 seconds left on the power play, which started with 29 seconds remaining in the second period when Jacob Kindl was penalized for delay of game after firing a puck into the stands.
Francois Beauchemin added an empty-netter in the game's final 30 seconds.
Detroit had won two of the three regular season meetings between the two, including both games in Anaheim. But the Red Wings never led this contest.
Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller recorded 21 saves in the win, while Detroit's Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots.
Game 2 is Thursday at Honda Center.
The Ducks struck first, quickly taking advantage of a power-play opportunity as Nick Bonino deflected Cam Fowler's shot past goalie Jimmy Howard and into the net at 10:24 of the first for a 1-0 lead. Bonino scored just four seconds after Detroit's Jordin Tootoo was sent to the penalty box for cross checking.
The Red Wings tied the score with a power-play goal of their own as Daniel Cleary converted at 16:05 of the period on an assist by Jakub Kindl and Patrick Eaves.
NOTES: The two clubs are meeting for the sixth time in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Detroit holds a 3-2 edge. The Red Wings captured a seven-game series in 2009, the last time they met in the playoffs. ... With the exception of Dallas vs. Edmonton and Buffalo vs. Philadelphia, no two teams have met more in the postseason than Anaheim and Detroit. ... Kindl, Brendan Smith and Danny DeKeyser of the Red Wings are in the playoffs for the first time. ... Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson were among the scratches for the Red Wings. Sbisa, who missed the final regular-season games with a lower-body injury, and Radek Dvorak were scratches for the Ducks.
