Recap: Getzlaf, Silfverberg Return in 3-2 Ducks Victory Over Carolina

ANAHEIM -- Tonight's return of captain Ryan Getzlaf and winger Jakob Silfverberg spurred the Ducks to a much-needed home victory, though it came at the cost of yet another injury to one of Anaheim's stars.

In a 3-2 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, the lift provided by the return of Getzlaf and Silfverberg was quelled in the first period when Corey Perry left the ice gingerly with an apparent knee injury and didn't return.
Getzlaf came back tonight after missing the last 19 games with a zygomatic (cheek) bone fracture, while Silfverberg missed the last five with an upper-body injury.
"It was fun to get back out and feel the support from our fans," Getzlaf said. "It was really nice for me and uplifting to start that game. As the game went on, I felt a little bit more comfortable out there. I was losing a few pucks in my feet, those kinds of things. Overall, I was happy with the way the team played."
It was Silfverberg who provided a huge goal for Anaheim on a lucky break with a half-minute left in the second period. Carolina's Haydn Fleury slipped and fell while gathering the puck at the red line, allowing Silfverberg to pick it up and snipe one home on the breakaway.

"I was kind of surprised," Silfverberg said. "It was a lucky break, I guess. Just tried to get a quick shot off. Just tried to beat him with speed and a precise shot. It was nice to see that one go in. It's about time I scored on a breakaway. I think I'm 0-for-4 in the shootout this year, so it's nice to see one go in."
Perry's status is for now unknown as he undergoes evaluation at a local hospital, according to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. Though the 32-year-old veteran's goal-scoring has been down for a second straight season (six in 31 games), he leads the Ducks with 22 points.
It was Star Wars Night at Honda Center, as fans were treated to Star Wars-themed entertainment throughout the game, and fans were able to interact with characters from the movies. A number of fans came dressed as their favorite characters themselves.
They all came alive once again when Anaheim made it a two-goal lead a little less than two minutes into the third period. Logan Shaw took in a feed from rookie defenseman
Andy Welinski
and whipped a shot through from the slot. It was the first career assist for Welinski, who made his NHL debut tonight.
With Welinski's NHL debut, all seven players selected by Anaheim in the 2011 NHL Draft have played at least one NHL game. This marks only the fourth time in NHL history (since the first NHL Draft in 1963) that a club has selected at least seven players in a single draft and seen each player appear in the NHL. The others are (by draft year) the 2009 New York Islanders, 1979 Boston Bruins & 1979 Philadelphia Flyers (all of those clubs also had seven draft picks).
The seven Ducks selected in 2011 were: Rickard Rakell (first round, 30th), John Gibson (second round, 39th), William Karlsson (second round, 53rd), Joseph Cramarossa (third round, 65th), Andy Welinski (third round, 83rd), Max Friberg (fifth round, 143rd), Josh Manson (sixth round, 160th).

Gibson (28 saves) made a number of acrobatic stops near the midway point of the third to retain Anaheim's two-goal lead. The most dazzling was a diving move with the glove to sweep the puck off the stripe, a second robbery in the period of Hurricanes center Elias Lindholm.
"It's part of the job," said the typicall stoic Gibson. "You don't really get to pick and choose what's thrown at you. Just try to get something in front of it and do the best you can. I was fortunate to make a couple of them."
But Carolina finally got within a goal with 2:40 left, as the Ducks couldn't clear the puck from just outside the crease and Victor Rask made them pay.
The game was nearly locked up with about a minute left when Carolina accidentally sent the puck toward their own empty net, and it just glanced off the left post. But the Ducks were able to hold the Canes without a shot until the final horn.
Getzlaf's opening shift elicited the night's first roar from the crowd as soon as he hit the ice, but not long afterward Carolina scored on its first shot on goal, as former King Justin Williams redirected the puck out of mid-air.
Anaheim got even a few minutes later when a Shaw bid on the rush leaked behind goalie Scott Darling, and a lunging Derek Grant pushed it over the stripe.

That was the first of three unanswered for the Ducks, who have earned points in five straight games (2-0-3) as they head out on a six-game, 11-day road trip that starts Thursday in St. Louis.