Ducks at Stars
The Anaheim Ducks look to close out their Western Conference first-round series when they visit the Dallas Stars for Game 6 on Sunday. After beginning the matchup with a pair of one-goal victories at home, Anaheim was outscored 7-2 in losing twice in Dallas. The Pacific Division-champion Ducks pushed the Stars to the brink of elimination on Friday, erupting for three goals in a 5:42 span early in the third period to break open a tight game and post a convincing 6-2 triumph.
Anaheim thrived on the power play, converting four times on six opportunities after going 0-for-11 over the previous three games. Conversely, Dallas struggled mightily with the man advantage as it failed to score on seven chances. The inexperienced Stars have gotten very little out of two players on the roster that have won the Stanley Cup as Tyler Seguin (Boston, 2011) has recorded only one goal and one assist while Ray Whitney (Carolina, 2006) has been kept off the scoresheet.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN2, RDS2, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Ryan Getzlaf returned with a vengeance in Game 5, registering a goal and two assists after missing the previous contest with an upper-body injury. The captain scored and set up a tally in each of the first two games before Anaheim was blanked in Game 3. The three-point performance raised his career postseason total to 66, moving him past teammate Teemu Selanne for first place on the franchise list.
ABOUT THE STARS: Ryan Garbutt will be lighter in the wallet as a result of his actions in Game 5. The left wing was fined $1,474.36 by the league on Saturday, one day after receiving a five-minute major and game misconduct for spearing Anaheim's Corey Perry at 9:11 of the first period. Dallas managed to score a short-handed goal 49 seconds after the incident, but the Ducks cashed in with the man advantage 26 seconds afterward.
OVERTIME
1. Stars D Brenden Dillon returned from a lower-body injury to make his series debut on Friday. He blocked one shot and posted a minus-1 rating in 20:18 of ice time.
2. Ducks C Rickard Rakell became the first player in franchise history to have his first NHL goal come in the postseason.
3. Dallas captain Jamie Benn tallied Friday to become the first member of the franchise to record a point in each of his first five career playoff games since 1980, when Bobby Smith and Steve Payne both accomplished the feat for the Minnesota North Stars.