ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf has had quite the eventful postseason and it's only Game 2.
After getting his face stitched up following Wednesday's Game 1 victory in the Ducks' opening-round series against Dallas, the Ducks' captain and his wife, Paige, welcomed a baby girl shortly after midnight, early Friday morning.
All jokes about his daughter crying when she saw his swollen face aside (and there were plenty), the couple's new daughter, Willa, isn't going to keep Getzlaf from playing in game two, Friday night (6:30 p.m. PT on Prime Ticket) at the Honda Center.
"He's playing," said head coach Bruce Boudreau. "But as you know by now, he had a baby girl last night and he was pretty tired to so he opted to take the morning off and get some rest, and I said ok."
It's the couple's third child, they already have two sons, Ryder and Gavin.
While Getzlaf will be present on Anaheim's top line, his left wing line mate Matt Beleskey will not.
Beleskey is listed as day-to-day with a "nagging" lower-body injury and did not take morning skate.
Devante Smith-Pelly skated on the line with Corey Perry in morning skate.
"He may start on that left wing up there but by no means does that mean that other people aren't going to get a chance on the line," Boudreau said. "
Smith-Pelly had 10 points with a +5 rating in 19 games with Anaheim this season and had 27 goals and 16 assists with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL. He's now been with the team for the last three games and scored the shootout winner in Los Angeles last weekend.
"He was Norfolk's best player," Boudreau said. "But in the three games he's played for us he's been very good. What he brings, he's a big-body guy that know how to play and go in front of the net. Just another power forward in the making."
.@DallasStars-@AnaheimDucks, Game 2: What to watch for on #PrimeTicket (6:30p) http://t.co/QDR5JJEZcp @HondaCenter #NHLDucks #NHLplayoffs
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) April 18, 2014
The Ducks do have the depth to make up for a missing left wing, even though Beleskey had been one of the most productive players in recent weeks.
"If you look at our lineup through the year, it's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get," said forward Teemu Selanne. "I think in these circumstances, it's going to help. So far, we've been able to put everybody in any place and it's worked."
Other morning skate notes:
-- Following the Stars' near comeback in game one, there was a renewed sense of confidence in the Dallas locker room. Coming into game two, the Ducks want to take that confidence away.
"We need to come out in game two, establish and dictate the way that we want to play and try and make them respond to us," said defenseman Cam Fowler. "If we can make them do that to us, and do it in our own building, then I think we'll set ourselves up for success."
-- Goaltender Frederik Andersen will start in the net for the Ducks once again.
-- While watching the first game of the Kings-Sharks series Thursday night, Selanne felt that the way the Sharks played was much like the way the Ducks played their first game against the Stars. The Sharks failed to completely put the Kings away, allowing a third-period comeback.
Thank you, @City_of_Anaheim for helping us #PaintItOrange! http://t.co/RQshDxvwUL
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 18, 2014
Selanne, one of the most grizzled playoff veterans in the league, said the key is going to be learning from their mistakes in game one.
"It was 4-3, they had some chances and it could easily go either way," Selanne said. "We've got to learn from last game, to not stop playing and do things right. That's the focus right now, playing 60 minutes and playing our style of hockey and good things will happen."
