Faceoff Factor

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars: Game 3 preview

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Apr 15, 12:18 AM | Hype this story!

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Ducks (4) vs. Stars (5) Game 3
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Series Score: Ducks 0 – Stars 2
Game Time: 8:30 EST
Location: Reunion Arena (Dallas)
Television: ET, TSN

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Preview
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The Dallas Stars struck again Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It was another offensive display by the Dallas squad as they scored 5 goals, this time they only scored two on the power play. Anaheim got a little more of a boost offensively as they were able to put two goals behind Marty Turco.

Going into Dallas, Anaheim will have their work cut out for them. The Ducks failed to crack more than 25 shots again last night. Teemu Selanne seems to have finally found his niche with a goal last night. The Stars will have to watch that they don’t become too comfortable with their current positions because Anaheim isn’t a team that just simply goes to sleep.

However, if Anaheim wants this series to turn around, they’re going to need to get more shots to the net and more traffic in front of Turco. Until that happens, the Dallas defense and special teams will continue to shut down the Ducks offensively. Another thing the Ducks have to do is to play smart and not take any more penalties. Though Dallas only scored on two of the seven power plays, they are still very potent.

Dallas is in a great position. They’re up two games and they are going to their home arena, where they can sweep the series with a win in both games. More of the same came from the Stars on Saturday. They played physical, smart, and, most importantly scored goals.

Dallas needs to keep an eye on the explosive Anaheim stars like Selanne, Niedermyer, and Pronger, just as they have so far, to make sure that they keep to their current level of in activity. Anaheim, at this point, needs to keep an eye on every Dallas Star in sight. Mike Ribeiro scored a goal and two assists and seems to be all over the Ducks right now. Other notables to watch for Anaheim are Mike Modano and Brad Richards, who scored 55 seconds apart on Saturday.

Fortunately for both teams, there aren’t any injuries haven’t slowed them down. Right now, neither team could afford to lose a key player.

For a complete list of team leaders and statistics, click here.

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Injuries
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Anaheim: No major injuries
Dallas: Zubov (hernia)