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Stars try to end Ducks' title defense

Fri 18th, April 2008

(Sports Network) - The Dallas Stars will try to end the Ducks' title defense tonight, when they visit Anaheim for Game 5 of this best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal at the Honda Center.

The fourth-seeded Ducks became the first-ever West Coast team to win a Stanley Cup championship last year, as they defeated Ottawa in five games to also earn the first league crown in franchise history.

Anaheim is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships since Detroit did it in 1997 and '98. However, the Ducks will now have to climb out of a 3-1 series' hole against Dallas just to get out of the first round.

Dallas, meanwhile, is attempting to get past the opening round in the postseason for the first time since 2003, when it lost in the conference semifinals to Anaheim. The Stars have been bounced out in the quarters in three straight playoff trips.

The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in this series by winning the first two games on the road and will have a chance to end the set in Anaheim tonight.

Anaheim cut its series' deficit to two games to one by notching a 4-2 win in Dallas on Tuesday, but the Stars rebounded with a 3-1 home victory in Thursday's Game 4.

Stu Barnes registered a goal and an assist to move the Stars just one game away from moving on to the conference semifinals.

Joel Lundqvist and Steve Ott also scored for the Stars, while Marty Turco stopped 28-of-29 shots to earn the win.

Turco has been terrific in this series, going 3-1 with a stingy 1.76 goals against average and solid .920 save percentage.

Mathieu Schneider scored the lone goal for the Ducks, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere allowed three goals on 20 shots in defeat.

Right winger Corey Perry was back in the lineup for Anaheim after missing the final 12 games of the regular season and the first three of the playoffs with a quad injury. Perry had a tendon in his right thigh partially severed by the skate blade of Colorado netminder Jose Theodore midway through the third period of the Ducks' 1-0 loss on March 6. He recorded an assist in Thursday's setback.

In addition to the absence of top defenseman Sergei Zubov, the Stars will also have to play tonight's game without veteran blueliner Philippe Boucher, who is out with a lower-body injury.

Dallas won the season series against the Ducks this year, posting a 5-3-0 mark in the eight meetings. The only playoff encounter between these clubs came in 2003, when Anaheim beat the Stars in six games.

The Ducks were an excellent team at home this season, posting a 28-9-4 record at the Honda Center. Dallas had a solid 22-14-5 mark as the road team.

If necessary, Game 6 of this series will be held Sunday at American Airlines Center.

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