Turniere » e opportunities this past week. We whiffed and just missed

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf spent the final seconds of the Anaheim Ducks playoff opener in the dressing room with a large ice bag pressed to a nasty cut on his left cheek. Playoff success usually requires a little discomfort, and the Ducks got a good taste of both in their opener. Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to win his NHL playoff debut, and the Ducks held on for a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. Getzlaf, Kyle Palmieri and Mathieu Perreault scored in a dominant first period for the top-seeded Ducks, who began their playoff run on a dead sprint. Anaheim led 4-0 midway through the second period before Dallas got rolling in its first playoff game since 2008. Captain Jamie Benn and Colton Sceviour had power-play goals, and Tyler Seguin scored with 6:07 left to trim the Ducks lead to one. Anaheim hung on with a handful of big saves from Andersen, a 24-year-old Danish rookie. "We knew they were going to push," Palmieri said. "No team is going to go away, especially in the playoffs. We weathered the storm, and itll help us going forward." Game 2 is Friday. Anaheim is the Western Conferences No. 1 seed for the first time after the best regular season in franchise history, setting new marks for victories (54), points (116) and goals (263) while winning its second straight Pacific Division title. The Ducks won their opener for the second straight year, but they lost in seven games to seventh-seeded Detroit last spring. They didnt even get 60 minutes into their post-season return without drama, nearly blowing a four-goal lead while losing two of their top-line forwards to injury. "Im sure we didnt put the fear of God in them tonight, and they probably gained some confidence," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We didnt play that good. We gave the puck away too many times tonight, but well go back to the drawing board." Matt Beleskey had a goal and an assist before incurring a lower-body injury in the third period. Getzlaf then got hit in the face with the puck with 16 seconds left, sending him to the dressing room early. Beleskey has struggled with a similar injury in recent weeks, and Boudreau wasnt sure of its new severity. Boudreau doesnt think Getzlaf has a broken bone in his face, but will know more Thursday when the Ducks reconvene to figure out what to fix from Game 1. Benn and Sceviour scored in their post-season NHL debuts, but the Stars couldnt escape their early hole despite an impressive game from their high-scoring top line of Benn, Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin, which accounted for 14 shots. "The way we finished was how we want to play the full game," said Seguin, who infamously scored just one goal in 22 playoff games for Boston last season. "I definitely liked our no-quit attitude out there and performance." Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 shots for the wild-card Stars, who ended their five-year playoff drought thanks to new coach Lindy Ruff and seven Stanley Cup winners on their roster. "I thought at times we had them on their heels, and we gave them a good push," Ruff said. Andersen, who went 20-5 in his first NHL season, got the start over veteran Jonas Hiller, who has fallen out of favour with coach Bruce Boudreau after a handful of poor starts. After a raucous pregame reception from their orange towel-waving fans, the Ducks wasted no time. Nick Bonino lifted an exceptional pass over diving defenceman Aaron Rome to Palmieri for a backhand goal just 1:53 in. Getzlaf converted a rebound of Beleskeys shot off Lehtonens mask, and Perreault put Anaheim up 3-0 with a power-play goal on exceptional passes from Patrick Maroon and Getzlaf. Beleskey got credit for the Ducks second power-play goal when Francois Beauchemins long shot deflected off his leg. But Dallas got a 5-on-3 advantage for 56 seconds late in the period, and both Benn and Sceviour capitalized. NOTES: Stephane Robidas faced his former teammates for the first time since Dallas traded the veteran defenceman to Anaheim last month. ... Anaheims long-struggling power play hadnt scored multiple goals in a game since Jan. 15, when the Ducks got six against Vancouver. ... LW Ray Whitney returned to the Stars lineup after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury. ... Nichushkin, who turned 19 last month, made his NHL playoff debut two months after playing in his first Olympics for Russia. Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale . A lawmaker is hoping the buzz from California Chromes run for the Triple Crown might build support for a bill that would place the U. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. http://www.onlinejerseyscheap.com/. Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. Wholesale Jerseys Online . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Cheap Jerseys USA . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right.ST. LOUIS - The pass rush was supposed to be a St. Louis Rams strength with four first-rounders on the defensive line running Gregg Williams aggressive scheme. Instead, theyve gotten to the quarterback just once in three games, a sack by rookie Aaron Donald.Eight teams are in double figures when it comes to sacks. St. Louis (1-2) is dead last in the 32-team NFL going into Sundays game at Philadelphia and its the rushing defence thats likely to blame for the lack of sacks.So far, the Rams have surrendered 100-yard games to Cordarrelle Patterson, Bobby Rainey and DeMarco Murray. Teams are running so well, St. Louis has faced the fewest pass attempts in the NFL.Were creating an opportunity for teams to pick up significant gains on the ground, coach Jeff Fisher said. And if anybody had their preference, they do it that way.This week will be another challenge. LeSean McCoy is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry, but Darren Sproles has a 6.7-yard average. The Eagles (3-1) were limited to 22 yards on 12 carries last week in a loss to the 49ers.Can we mimic a few of those things? Williams said. Hopefully. Well see. The difference is what you do in space.Despite the lack of a ground game, Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was sacked just once for a 4-yard loss. Thats the lone sack the Eagles have surrendered the last three games.Even with Chris Long on injured reserve-designated to return with an ankle injury since the opener, it has to be a frusttration.dddddddddddd Robert Quinn led the NFC with a franchise-record 19 sacks last year, and hes been shut down thus far, along with William Hayes, Michael Brockers, Kendall Langford and Eugene Sims.Quinn had a sack in 11 of 16 games last season and had five multi-sack games.Williams has no complaints about effort, just production. Missed tackles and assignments leading to big gains have been critical in the two losses.We had some opportunities this past week. We whiffed and just missed some free rushers and that kind of stuff, Williams said. A few of those plays, you just cant explain why some smart guys like that would do that.Williams said the system hasnt changed much since Fisher became head coach in 2012, so that shouldnt be an issue. The Rams have used a lot a three-man fronts, especially against Dallas, with zero success.This week, they dont seem overly concerned about countering the Eagles up-tempo offence.Were fine with the packages we have, Williams said. If they sub then we have as much time as we want, we can make that decision if we want.NOTES: The Rams could have six wide receivers on Sunday if Tavon Austin (knee) is ready. Austin was limited Friday but did some sprinting. ... CBs Brandon McGee (foot) and Trumaine Johnson (knee) did not practice, along with C Barrett Jones (back). Johnson and Jones have been out since the preseason.___Online:AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '