Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars: Game 5 preview

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Apr 18, 09:55 AM | Hype this story!
 

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Ducks (4) vs. Stars (5) Game 5
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Series Score: Ducks 1 – Stars 3
Game Time: 10:30 EST
Location: Honda Center (Anaheim)
Television: ET, TSN, VERSUS

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Preview
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Game four went exactly how the Stars had hoped as they defeated Anaheim 3-1 for the home crowd to see. They now have the Ducks entirely on their heels and all Dallas has to do is go into the Honda Center and win one more game to move on to the next round.

The Stars got some production from players other than their marquee names. Stu Barnes chipped in with a goal and an assist with the two other goals coming from Steve Ott and Joel Lundqvist. Though Anaheim’s offense got 28 shots on net, Turco saw nearly all of them clearly and had no problem turning them away. Dallas’ game included all the necessities for winning a home playoff game: the fans were very involved with two waved-off goals, production from minor players, great defense and goaltending.

Only one thing has worked for Anaheim in this series and if the Ducks want to stay alive, they’re going to need big production from their key role players. Chris Pronger is still the main asset for keeping this team alive. He’s a great two-way player who can make the big hits or score the big goals. Unfortunately for Anaheim, Pronger can’t be on the ice the whole game, so they will need the third and fourth line to energize the home crowd on Friday night so this team can regain some life.

One thing Anaheim has to learn not to do is take penalties. They, once again, had eight penalties last night. Though Dallas failed to take advantage of those power play opportunities, it kept the Ducks’ offensive threats off the ice for 14 minutes (plus a 10 minute game misconduct penalty taken by Anaheim’s Beauchemin in the final minute of the game).

Dallas knows now that they have the momentum, strong defense and goaltending, line depth, and likely many chances on the power play going into game five. If Anaheim’s stars can’t produce and the Stars keep the fans out of the game, there is no doubt that Dallas can go for the jugular in game five and stop Anaheim’s run to defend Lord Stanley’s Cup.

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

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Injuries
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Anaheim: R. Niedermayer, DTD (concussion-like symptoms)
Dallas: Zubov, IR (hernia)

Comments

  1. Jonathan Farzalo

    Apr 18, 10:44 AM

    At the start of this series, I really thought it would be Dallas that rolled over and died. I thought Brad Richards was going to tank, and the rest of the team wilt under the last few years of missed expectations. But, alas, they have really stepped up and shown the Ducks, that they are NO WHERE NEAR the team they beleive, or others beleived. Regardless of the final outcome, this series has shown that the Ducks are not the team to beat, but just another team in the hunt.

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