Anaheim, Calif. – Andy McDonald had his first career playoff hat trick and assisted on another goal as the Anaheim Ducks opened their first series against the Vancouver Canucks with a 5-1 victory on Wednesday night.
After Jeff Cowan gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 7:07 of the first period, the Ducks responded by scoring three times – twice by McDonald – on their first nine shots against goalie Roberto Luongo.
Teemu Selanne had a goal and assist during the outburst, and Chris Kunitz assisted on all three goals.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 26 saves for the Ducks.
Ryan Getzlaf gave Anaheim a three-goal lead midway through the third, and McDonald capped the scoring on a shot from just left of the crease when the Ducks had a two-man advantage with 52 seconds left.
Luongo faced 31 shots as the Ducks kept the pressure on by crowding in front of the Vancouver goal. He was replaced by Dany Sabourin after Getzlaf’s goal, and Sabourin gave up McDonald’s third goal.
Notching the first multigoal and four-point game of his playoff career, McDonald scored his second goal of the night to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead at 19:11 of the opening period.
On a 2-on-1 rush, Selanne skated down the right side, waited for the defender to commit toward him, then slid the puck across to McDonald. The Ducks’ center beat Luongo with a shot between the pads.
Selanne put Anaheim ahead with a nifty move across the crease. Cutting through the right circle, Selanne took McDonald’s pass from behind the goal line, sliced around a defender and beat Luongo with a wrist shot to the stick side.
