Game 1: Ducks and Stars talk 4-3 Anaheim win

After bulding a 4-0 lead on the visiting Dallas Stars, it looked like the train might come off the tracks for the Anaheim Ducks in the third period. After pulling to wihthin one goal – and even pulling their goaltender in the final minute – the Stars came up empty, and the Ducks skated off winners in Game 1. Following the game, here’s what was being said in both locker rooms – including quotes from Corey Perry, Jamie Benn, and both coaches…

Frederik Andersen on tonight’s game:

“We let up a little bit in the third after our fourth goal, so this is a good lesson for us. Hopefully we can prevent that from happening again.”

Andersen what he learned from his playoff debut:

“Even though you’re up 4-0, you have to play 60 minutes. That’s probably one thing. But I’m happy about the win.”

Corey Perry on the three-goal first period:

“It was just us excited being back on the big stage. Everybody wants to play, and everybody wants to win. You’re going to have ups and downs in the playoffs, but if you can keep an even keel, you’re going to be all right.”

Perry on giving up three unanswered goals:

“A little adversity isn’t going to hurt us. We’ve got to learn how to play with the lead, especially down to the wire. All those things are going to help us.”

Head coach Bruce Boudreau on Ryan Getzlaf’s injury update:

“I just know he’s getting stitched up right now. That’s the only thing I’ve heard. I think he’s going to be ok, but he’ll probably have a nasty cut on the side of his mouth. I’ll know more tomorrow or later tonight.”

Boudreau on if the second half of the game was a concern:

“When a team scores two goals late, they get the momentum and the belief they can win. The other team is playing more of a defensive role trying to hang on. Then, you usually end up with a score like it was tonight, even though I thought halfway through the game we were in control of the situation.”

Jamie Benn on tonight’s game:

“We had a tough start. They came out hot in their building. They are really good in this rink. I thought we battled back pretty good there but it just wasn’t enough.”

Benn on the upcoming games:

“They are going to be hard-fought games. You have to play a full 60 and maybe even more. We are going to learn from this one, we’ll watch some video. They played a good game, they were ready to go.”

Tyler Seguin on the game:

“The way we finished was how we want to play the full game. I am not saying I don’t think we had a good start. I thought the first 10-12 minutes, we played pretty well. We didn’t capitalize on some opportunities, even though they did. I definitely liked our no quit-attitude out there and performance.”

Seguin on the upcoming games:

“I think we were working hard. It is going to be a long series. That was definitely the message throughout the room. Now we have to bounce back and get ready for the next game.”

Head coach Lindy Ruff on attempted comeback:

“It gave us some life obviously. The Benn opportunity, even at the end of the period, if we would have had that one to make it 4-3, would have been a really important goal for us. But we got one in the third. I thought at times we had them on their heels and we gave them a good push.”

For John Hoven’s prediction and analysis of how this series will play out (as well as Boston vs. Detroit), head over to LAKings.com and read this article.

You can also watch the game highlights down below.

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