ANAHEIM They're young. They're big. They're talented. They're almost never praised by their coach.

Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf share a lot of traits, not the least of which is the degree to which they've ascended to key roles with the Anaheim Ducks.

Team-mates, linemates and friends, the young forwards are standouts still on the rise, as illustrated by the Ducks' playoff series with Minnesota.

The 24-year-old Penner scored the winning goal in the series opener, assisted by 21-year-olds Perry and Getzlaf. Getzlaf scored a glorious, highlight-reel shorthander to clinch up Game 2. And Thursday proved to be an even more successful Kids Night.

Getzlaf's power-play goal in the second period broke a 1-1 tie; Perry's first career playoff goal extended the lead in the third period, and the Ducks went on to beat Minnesota 3-1, winning their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series four games to one.

Getzlaf's goal, less than a minute after Minnesota had tied the game on a shorthander by Marian Gaborik, turned out to be the one that sealed the fate of the Wild.

"That's a four-minute power play that we gave up a short-handed goal," said Getzlaf. "Those can kill you, (but) we bounced back the way we wanted to, and it just exploded from there."

Getzlaf, Perry and Penner finished the series with four goals and six assists. In the playoffs, as in the regular season, the kids are clearly all right.

"Those guys have been a factor for us," said Teemu Selanne. "Especially in these low-scoring games with Minnesota. We need everybody, and those guys have been better and better. They were our best line tonight, and that's awesome. That's great to watch."

Coach Randy Carlyle tends to be more reserved in his praise. In general, he's willing to give the youngsters plaudits for their advances from last season. In 2005-06, Getzlaf played 57 games, Perry played 56 and Penner was on hand for 19 in the regular season; they also saw action in 11 or more of the Ducks' playoff games.

"We talked about the youth of our team," said Carlyle, "and they are at the forefront of it. They became everyday NHL players this year. And we said we wouldn't protect them as we did last year. We didn't play them against teams' top lines (a year ago), and now we feel confident that the group can play to a higher level. "We've called upon them, (and) these kids have shown the ability to raise the level of their game."

The degree to which Carlyle is unwilling to lavish praise the three is something of a running joke, especially in light of their contributions. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Getzlaf was sixth on the team in scoring with 58 points and was plus-17. Penner, 6-4, 243, was seventh with 45 points (he was minus-two), and Perry (6-3, 202) was eighth with 44 points and was plus-12.

The day after Game 1, for example, Carlyle was not unreasonably asked if he'd liked Penner's play, which included the game-winning goal.

"I thought that he had some shifts that I would like him to revisit," Carlyle said dryly. "And he will revisit them. And on the other hand, he did some things that big men can do."

Similarly, Carlyle said of Getzlaf, "He can be as good as he wants to be. He's a big, skilled hockey player. He can do some things that a lot of guys can't, or don't even try to do with the puck. And he has size and he has ability to do things at a high pace.

"He still needs to improve in some areas as far as standing around, dictating play with the puck. As we've labeled him, he's a pretty good hockey player, and we think he has more potential."

The players understand that Carlyle, in seeking to mine all that potential, is never going to go out of his way to be complimentary.

"He's just trying to challenge me," said Getzlaf, typifying the view of the young forwards, "and push me to know that I can always be better never be satisfied right now, especially at such a young age."

Selanne, who often played with Getzlaf and Perry last season, has seen the young players mature as a result of their experience in last year's playoffs.

"It was a great experience for them last year to be around and be a part of the success we had last year," he said. "This year, there's no surprise. There's nothing new they have to learn."

Perry agrees last year's run to the conference finals was an invaluable opportunity, learning "what it takes to win every night and battle hard every night, what kind of grind it is to win in the playoffs. You've got to be prepared every night."

Thursday night, there was no doubt about their preparation.

"We weren't happy with our effort in that last game," said Getzlaf, referring to the 4-1 loss in Game 4. "We knew we had to play better for our team to succeed."

They played better. The Ducks won.

Along with everything else, the kids are pretty smart.

Contact Star columnist David Lassen at dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com. Check his Star blog for more on Thursday's game.