Game 3: Ducks Beat Jets to Take 3-0 Series Lead

The Anaheim Ducks took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Winnipeg Jets after a 5-4 OT victory in Game 3 on Monday night.

Rickard Rakell did the honors as he deflected home Francois Beauchemin's shot to put his team within one victory of advancing to the second round of the postseason. Ryan Kesler scored with two minutes remaining in regulation to force the overtime period. 

The Winnipeg Jets looked like they were cruising toward a victory on Monday night, but Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler had other ideas as the center scored with two minutes to go to force overtime in Game 3. 

Buoyed by their home crowd, the Jets came out of the gate firing, adn the Ducks had a difficult time coping. Anaheim did get a few chances here and there, with Emerson Etem getting an excellent one in front of the net, but Ondrej Pavelec was able to stop it and keep the game scoreless.

Near the midway point of the period, the Jets scored a goal and sent their home crowd into a frenzy. Jacob Trouba made the play happen as he fired the puck toward the net, and when Pavelec kicked it out, Adam Lowry made a beautiful backhanded pass across the crease that Lee Stempniak fired home to make it a 1-0 game.

As the period wore on, the two sides continued to trade scoring chances, and with five seconds left in the period, it was Anaheim that took advantage and scored. Andrew Cogliano made a great play along the boards as he chased down a loose puck, and then he dished a pass back to Cam Fowler. Fowler then ripped a wrist shot past Pavelec to tie things up at 1-1 after a period of play.

Just three minutes into the second period, the Ducks scored to take the lead. Hampus Lindholm got the puck in the middle of the slot and flipped a backhanded pass across the ice, and Corey Perry did the rest as he one-timed the shot past Pavelec to give the Ducks a narrow 2-1 lead.

The Jets got their chance to come back a few minutes later when Kyle Palmieri went to the penalty box, and Winnipeg took advantage and notched a power play tally. Michael Frolik set up an excellent screen in front of the cage that Frederik Andersen couldn’t quite fight through, and Tyler Myers fired home a slapshot to tie things up at 2-2.

Three minutes later, the Jets stormed back down the ice and scored again to seize the lead. After a won face-off, the Jets had a couple of shots blocked down, but eventually Blake Wheeler picked up a loose puck near the top of the slot and fired home a shot to give his team a 3-2 lead and send the MTS Centre crowd into a frenzy.

Undaunted, the Ducks got their own offensive game in gear, and they scored to tie things back up. Matt Beleskey made a big play as he drilled Adam Pardy behind the net, and Ryan Kesler eventually found the loose puck. His pass to Jakub Silfverberg was right on the money, and the winger fired home the shot, tying the game and notching his second goal in two games.

The wild period came to an end with yet another goal as the Jets scored with less than two minutes to go. Fowler attempted to fire a pass across the ice in the defensive zone, but the ill-advised pass attempt was intercepted by Bryan Little, and the veteran winger ripped home a slap shot past Andersen to give the Jets a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Things surprisingly slowed down a bit tempo-wise coming out of the third period, with the Ducks finding it difficult to get their offensive legs underneath them and the Jets happily playing keep-away to kill off some time clock. Chances were few and far between in the opening minutes, and the Jets maintained their lead through the first half of the period.

In the closing minutes, the Ducks slowly began to ramp up the pressure on their opponent, and with two minutes to go in regulation Kesler tied things up. Silfverberg made a good play as he swung around the offensive zone, and he ripped a quick pass toward the front. Kesler was there to take care of the rest, and when the lamp lit up, the game was tied at 4-4.

The Ducks had a late scare in the game as they were whistled for a delay of game penalty, but Andersen stood on his head and helped force overtime. He made a couple of incredible saves during the power play, most notably robbing Andrew Ladd of a shot from in tight, and the game headed to the extra session.

The overtime started with the Jets getting a slew of chances, but after Andersen repelled the advance, Anaheim was able to pull itself together and eventually got the game-winning tally. A pass around to the point got the puck onto Beauchemin's stick, and as his shot looked primed to sail wide of the net, Rakell got his stick blade on it and deflected it past Pavelec to give his team the 5-4 victory. 

The Ducks will look to close out the series on Wednesday night in Winnipeg, with the puck drop taking place at 6:30 p.m.