Ducks beat Red Wings 5-3 despite Pronger's absence

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer, right, gets his stick on a shot by Detroit Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg in the third period of their NHL Western Conference finals game in Anaheim, California, on Thursday. The Ducks won 5-3. PHOTO: AP

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 36 saves and the Anaheim Ducks, playing without suspended star Chris Pronger, beat Detroit 5-3 on Thursday to level their NHL playoff series.

Ryan Getzlaf broke a 3-3 deadlock with a power play goal 5:24 into the third period and Rob Niedermayer added an empty-net tally with 68 seconds remaining as Anaheim equalized the Western Conference final at two wins each.

The best-of-seven series continues tomorrow at Detroit and returns to Anaheim on Tuesday with a seventh game on Thursday at Detroit if needed. The winner will face either Ottawa or Buffalo in the Stanley Cup championship series.

Star defenseman Pronger, who had been the Ducks' top playoff scorer, was banished by the league for a game after hitting Detroit's Tomas Holmstron in the head during a loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday.

Finnish star Teemu Selanne scored one goal and assisted on two others while defenseman Francois Beauchemin set up a pair of goals for the Ducks.

Anaheim's Corey Perry opened the scoring 97 seconds into the game but Detroit's Dan Cleary equalized 1:52 later.

Selanne and Richard Jackman added goals later in the first period to give the Ducks a 3-1 edge but Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi each scored a power play goal in the second period to level the score, setting up Getzlaf's unanswered third-period tally.