ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Sunday morning, the Ducks reflected on their Game 1 loss to the Kings in the Western Conference semifinals. There wasn't much to learn from - they had the game wrapped up until the 0:07 mark. There was no "aha" moment and film studies revealed no new secrets to getting pucks past goaltender Jonathan Quick.
It was the sixth time these opponents have faced one another this season and there simply aren't any secrets between either team.
"I don't think we're going to get many surprises from them," said Ducks' forward Nick Bonino. "They played the game they wanted to play. They got it in, they grinded and they tried to hit us. We did the same thing. Maybe they'll play a little harder, I think every game both teams will start playing a little harder. But I think we're ready after last night and we'll respond well."
While both teams had several missed opportunities, there is only one team those misses are haunting. A few key chances stood out to the Ducks, namely Alec Martinez's kick save on Corey Perry in overtime.
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"I've seen it a few times. I've thought about it. He made a great play," Perry said. "He went down and I thought I had it, it was an empty net. I tried to put it in and he just got his leg on it. Those things happen and it was the difference in last night's game."
However, it was such a tight, evenly matched game that other than a few misses, there wasn't much that the team needed to correct.
"I thought we played pretty good, you know?," said head coach Bruce Boudreau. "There's an old saying: you got to make hay when the sun shines. When you get your chances, you got to put them in, and we didn't put them in. It doesn't mean it was a bad game. We counted today that they had three scoring chances 5-on-5. I don't know of when we've ever held a team to that."
Old is young again
Teemu Selanne, the oldest player on the ice between the two teams, looked just as young as some of his counterparts Saturday night. He scored a goal that was nearly the game-winner in the third period, fittingly scoring it at 8:08, and he laid out Kings' defenseman Robyn Regehr in the first.
The oldest player on the Ducks roster knocked the oldest player on the Kings roster out of the game completely.
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"Teemu out-hit me," Bonino said. "He hit Regehr pretty hard twice, he knocked him over. Regehr is one of the bigger guys in the league. I think that's what the playoffs are all about, getting out of your comfort zone, hitting guys, making physical plays and that's what Teemu did."
Selanne said the ultra-physical game isn't necessarily his game, but he's can hold his own even at age.
"I am so strong," Selanne joked. "In the playoffs, it's more and more physical than in the (regular season). That's not really my style but I can play physical too. It is what it is and we all try to do our best to help the team and go from there."
Comeback kids
The Ducks have had 28 comeback wins this season. While they never trailed in the series against Dallas, based on their record of comebacks, making one in the series shouldn't be a problem.
"Our confidence can't change throughout the playoffs, and it can't change throughout a series," said captain Ryan Getzlaf. "We've got to play the same way every night, and find ways to win hockey games. We know what kind of team they are over there. They're a great hockey team. Same way as Dallas. No matter what happened in that series, we stuck to what we do best, and we won four games. That's what this mentality is for the rest of the way."
