NHL: Ducks edge Wild in Playoff opener

Ducks lead series 1-0. (Best of Seven)

Dustin Penner scored the game winning goal with 5:20 remaining in regulation, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1, Wednesday night. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series, thanks in part to Penner's goal.

After a scoreless first period highlighted by good defensive play from both teams, Pavol Demitra scored the game's first goal in the second, beating Anaheim goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. 3:51 later, Teemu Selanne scored on a breakaway, knotting the score up at 1-1.

With the score tied in the third, the Ducks picked up a rebound off a shot by the Wild. Quickly, the Ducks mounted a counter-attack, passing the puck up to Penner. Penner shot from the left side of the net, but the puck was stopped by Minnesota goaltender Nicklas Backstrom. However, the puck would richochet off of the pad of Backstrom, allowing Penner to shove the puck into the net, sealing the Ducks win. Commenting on his score after the game in the post game press conference, Penner said: "If the puck didn't go in after the initial shot I wanted to be able to pick up any loose change." And that was exactly what he did.

Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary No. Period Time Team Scorer (No.) Assists Score1 2nd 6:01 MIN Pavol Demitra (1) Kurtis Foster, Marian Gaborik 0-12 2nd 9:52 ANA Teemu Selanne (1) Francois Beauchemin 1-13 3rd 14:40 ANA Dustin Penner (1) Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf 2-1

Goaltending

Goaltending Team Player Shots Saves Save Pct. MIN Nicklas Backstrom 34 32 .941ANA Ilya Bryzgalov 25 24 .960

Three Stars of the Game

#1 = Teemu Selanne, RW, Anaheim Ducks - 1 Goal

#2 = Chris Pronger, D, Anaheim Ducks - 3 Shots on Goal

#3 = Samuel Pahlsson, C, Anaheim Ducks