Detroit, MI – Jonas Hiller made 23 stops for his third career playoff shutout and Ryan Getzlaf posted a goal and an assist as the Anaheim Ducks took a 4-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of this Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Nick Bonino, Matt Beleskey and Emerson Etem all had goals for the Ducks, who now hold a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series after splitting the first two games in Anaheim.
Jimmy Howard was touched for all four goals on 29 shots in the loss for the Red Wings, who finished 0-for-6 on the power play in the contest.
Game 4 will take place Monday night in Detroit.
Each goaltender made nice stops in the early stages of the game as Howard made a glove save on Bonino about two minutes in. Hiller, meanwhile, stopped Johan Franzen on a breakaway near the eight-minute mark.
Detroit also had 43 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage in the opening frame, and totaled three man advantages, while Anaheim had two power plays, but the goalies stood firm, with Hiller turning aside seven shots and Howard making 13 saves to keep the game scoreless.
In the second period, Anaheim dodged another bullet by killing a Detroit power play caused by a tripping minor on Getzlaf.
Shortly after the penalty expired, Justin Abdelkader received a charging major and game misconduct as he appeared to leave his skates on a high hit to the head of Toni Lydman with 4:49 to play in the second.
It took all of 18 seconds for the Ducks to get on the board as Corey Perry took a pass at the low left side and tried to get the puck on net, but lost it. However, it went right to the slot and Bonino backhanded it in for his second of the playoffs.
Still on the power play, Hiller had to make a nice save as a 3-on-2 break by Detroit saw Brendan Smith have an open shot from the slot. Hiller, though, swallowed up the puck.
"Getting the lead on that power play was big for us," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "We're fairly good when we have the lead going into the third so we thought it was big. It was a turning point in the game, I thought."
Detroit got a power play 4:34 into the third when Luca Sbisa was called for interference and Hiller made a stop with his mask on a hard shot by Valtteri Filppula.
With the advantage winding down, Damien Brunner skated the puck through the middle in his own end and had his pocket picked by Getzlaf, who used quick hands to slip the puck to the forehand and put it past Howard for a shorthanded goal and a 2-0 lead at 6:33.
"We had everything set up perfect for us and we gave up that second goal we let it affect us," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. "We shouldn't have let it affect us, you should keep playing and that's what the game is all about. And that's what poise and maturity does for you and we didn't show that."
The Ducks added to their advantage less than two minutes later, as pressure in the Detroit end resulted in a turnover and Teemu Selanne took the puck down low. As he was skating behind the net from the left side, Selanne sent a quick pass out front and Etem one-timed it for his first career playoff goal.
Anaheim put the game away with 6:26 to play with another power-play goal as Saku Koivu sent a quick pass from the right boards to the slot where Beleskey one-timed it home.
Game Notes
Lydman, who had to be helped off the ice after the hit, didn't return to play and will spend the night under observation ... This is the fifth time these two teams are meeting in the playoffs and each has won two series ... Detroit took two of three in the regular season against Anaheim ... Anaheim went 2- for-6 on the power play ... Selanne has 82 points (42g, 40a) in 114 career playoff games.
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