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Wounded Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf expects to play in Game 2

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf skates off the ice with a member of the medical staff after being hit in the face with a puck late in the third period against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at Honda Center.
(Jeff Gross / Getty Images)
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Consider this the leader setting the tone.

Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf — two days after he was smashed by a puck that did so much damage to the left side of his face that doctors quit counting the stitches required to close the wound — expects to pop in some aspirin and play Friday in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.

“If I saw my captain take a puck in the face and come back the next day, I’d want to play as hard as I possibly can,” Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said Thursday.

Getzlaf, the Ducks’ regular-season scoring leader (31 goals, 56 assists, 87 points), scored a first-period goal and was protecting the team’s 4-3 victory with 16.3 seconds left after the Stars pulled goalie Kari Lehtonen for an extra attacker. A shot by Dallas points leader Tyler Seguin hit Getzlaf, knocking him to the ice before a trainer rushed to his side and applied a towel to the gash.

The Ducks announced before a morning practice Thursday that Getzlaf suffered a “deep facial laceration,” but that X-rays were negative and that he is expected to play. Getzlaf did not participate in the practice.

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“He’s a tough guy,” said Corey Perry, Getzlaf’s first-line mate. “If it’s nothing serious, he’s going to be in there. He’s a competitor, a warrior and will do anything to help his team win.”

Another ache

Matt Beleskey had a goal and assist Wednesday, but he left the game after less than 12 minutes of ice time because of a lower-body injury.

Beleskey didn’t skate Thursday and said he would try again Friday — “I’ll try to walk,” he cracked — but if he’s unable, the most likely substitute to play alongside Getzlaf and Perry will be another tough, big body, Patrick Maroon.

Power timing

Despite inconsistency with power-play scoring that left them ranked 22nd in the NHL, the Ducks struck in their playoff opener for their first multi-goal game with a man advantage since Jan. 15.

“Simple plays, moving pucks and winning battles,” Perry said. “That’s the key to a good power play. First one, we won the puck in the corner, great pass by ‘Patty’ [Maroon] to get it over to ‘Matty’ [Perreault]. The other one was a great shot [by Beleskey]. All those plays are effective but simple.”

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Paying the price

The 21 shifts by Ducks forward Daniel Winnik was a testament to the value of grunt work. He provided high energy in penalty killing and had a last-minute takeaway that ended the Stars’ desperate attempt to tie.

“That’s my role, that’s what they ask me to do — whatever you can to keep the puck out of the net,” Winnik said. “Dive in front of a shot, dive for the loose puck, battle. A lot of it is ‘remain calm.’ In those situations, the tendency is to be a little overzealous. That’s where you get into trouble, running to a spot that you’re not supposed to be in. If you play in your area, it usually works out.”

Winnik said the showing is the Ducks’ first answer to questions about their killer instinct after blowing 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 first-round series leads to Detroit last year.

“We were four minutes away from going [to the second intermission] with a 4-0 lead, all of a sudden they get those two power plays … or it’s a completely different outcome,” Winnik said. “I don’t think there’s anything that says, ‘no killer instinct.’ We still won by a goal.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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Twitter: @latimespugmire

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