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Ducks spoil Jets' homecoming, take 3-0 series lead

Apr 21, 2015 - 5:18 AM Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) - The Ducks spoiled the return of playoff hockey to the city of Winnipeg for the first time in 19 years with yet another thrilling comeback.

Rickard Rakell scored the game-winning goal 5:12 into overtime to give Anaheim a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 5-4 win over the Jets in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Winnipeg held a one-goal lead heading into the third period for a third straight game, but Ryan Kesler tied it with 2:14 left to send the game past regulation.

Jakob Silfverberg finished with a goal and two assists, Kesler supplied a goal and a helper and Cam Fowler and Corey Perry also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who improved to 36-1-7 in one-goal games this season.

"They do have that innate sense of how to win," Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau said of his team. "They have great leadership in the room and never quit."

Frederik Andersen made 31 saves in the win.

Tyler Myers, Blake Wheeler, Lee Stempniak and Bryan Little all scored and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 26 shots for the Jets, who were in search of their first playoff win in franchise history.

"It's a tough hill to climb," Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said. "We've had leads in all of these games so it's there."

The last playoff game in Winnipeg took place on April 28, 1996.

The Ducks will look to complete the series sweep Wednesday at MTS Centre.

Late in regulation, Silfverberg skated below the goal line and dished the puck to Kesler, who wristed a shot into and wide-open net from the edge of the left circle to tie the game.

Little had two quality chances to put the Jets back in front moments later. His shot rang off the post and then Andersen snagged his wrister with a sprawling glove save to send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Andrew Cogliano battled behind the net and sent the puck back to Francois Beauchemin, who had his slap shot from the blue line deflected by Rakell through Pavelec's pads to silence the raucous Winnipeg faithful and give the Ducks a commanding series lead.

The home crowd, donned in all white, set an electric atmosphere, and the Jets fed off the energy by starting the scoring midway through the opening frame.

"It certainly was loud and gave them energy," Boudreau said of Winnipeg's deafening and blinding whitewash. "We handled it enough to survive."

Jacob Trouba entered the zone and had his shot from the top of the right circle kicked aside. Adam Lowry batted the rebound straight to Stempniak, who beat Andersen with a wrister in front.

Skating 4-on-4, Fowler tied the game with 5.4 seconds remaining in the first after moving in from the left-wing boards and wristing a shot past Pavelec.

The Ducks' momentum carried into the middle stanza. Pavelec denied Silfverberg on a short-handed breakaway with a glove stop, but was unable to stop Perry moments later. Hampus Lindholm backhanded a bouncing puck from the right circle to Perry, who buried the puck from in tight for a 2-1 lead 3:08 into the second.

Winnipeg tied the game after Anaheim was penalized for having too many men on the ice. Myers knocked down a failed Ducks clear at the blue line and fired a shot on net, which was deflected off Anaheim defender Simon Despres and past Andersen at 6:40 in the middle stanza.

Three minutes later, Wheeler gave the Jets the lead after he tracked down a bouncing puck and snapped it in short side for a short-lived advantage.

After gathering a Jets turnover behind the net, Kesler emerged from below the goal line and sent a pass to Silfverberg, who tapped the puck into the net to tie the game at 16:04.

With under two minutes to play in the second, Little took a failed Ducks clear, moved into the high slot and slapped the puck over Andersen's shoulder into the top left corner of the net, giving the Jets a 4-3 edge.

Pavelec came up with a key save past the midway point of the third. Rakell skated around the net and backhanded a pass to Matt Beleskey, who had his one- timer stopped.

Game Notes

Cogliano contributed three helpers ... Beauchemin finished with two assists for his 32nd career playoff point, surpassing Chris Pronger for sole possession of fifth place on the franchise's all-time point list and second place among defensemen ... The Jets franchise is now 0-7 in the postseason, as the Atlanta Thrashers were swept by the Rangers in the 2007 Eastern Conference quarterfinal round.