Islanders Escape in Overtime : Hockey: Turgeon scores winning goal for 4-3 victory after Mighty Ducks tie it in third period.

The Mighty Ducks improved in their second game Sunday, two days after a disastrous debut amid the celebration of the franchise’s first game.

This time, the Ducks sent their game against the New York Islanders into overtime, tying the score with 32 seconds left in regulation before losing, 4-3, when Pierre Turgeon scored off Vladimir Malakhov’s behind-the-back pass at 2:43 of the extra period.

The Ducks were less than three minutes from recording their first point in the NHL with a tie when Turgeon scored the game-winner, his second goal of the night at Anaheim Arena. But Duck Coach Ron Wilson was thinking about two points.

“We wanted the win, we weren’t playing to tie,” Wilson said.

The Ducks only made it to overtime because of a spectacular effort by Bob Corkum, their checking center, who scored the tying goal.

Terry Yake took the puck behind the net, then passed out front to Corkum, who tried once, was stopped, then dived flat-out and knocked in the rebound.

“You do what you can to get it in there,” Corkum said. “It was a great effort by everybody.”

Said Wilson: “That’s what you want to set up, a scramble around the net. You want to be able to find the loose puck and he did.”

The Ducks lost to Detroit by five goals before a sellout crowd Friday, then saw the Kings beat the Red Wings by seven goals the next night. This time, there was a smaller crowd of 15,386, and the Ducks had recovered from their attack of nerves and distraction.

“We picked up our game, and it showed on the scoreboard and the shot clock and everything else,” said Yake, who scored one goal and assisted on the game-tying goal. “We made a big step. We settled for a loss and that’s still not acceptable, but it’s a step forward.”

Said Wilson: “We were relaxed, that’s the best way to put it. We were able to skate, we finished our checks--especially in the first period. We played the way we did in the preseason. We established strong forchecking and we did an excellent job in the defensive zone.”

Nevertheless, they’re still looking for that first victory--or tie. Florida, the Ducks’ expansion companion, took care of that matter with a 2-0 victory Saturday over Tampa Bay, which joined the NHL last season.

The Ducks didn’t mind seeing the Islanders too much--they had beaten New York, 3-2, during the exhibition season. But that was without Turgeon, who scored 132 points last season.

This time, the Islanders escaped.

“We’re a speed club, but we were just playing stop and start,” Islander Coach Al Arbour said. “They had a lot to do with that tonight. They’re a hard-working hockey club. They play very hard shift in and shift out. They may lack things but they won’t lack for effort.”

The score was tied, 2-2, entering the third period, and the Ducks seemed to be holding the Islanders. They had killed a two-minute penalty after defenseman Randy Ladouceur was sent off for roughing, but the Islanders kept at it after the sides were at equal strength again. Duck goalie Ron Tugnutt stopped two shots by Patrick Flatley in quick succession, but Wayne McBean’s slap shot from the right circle beat Tugnutt over the right shoulder for a 3-2 lead at 9:43.

The Ducks had a historic moment earlier in the game. They took a lead for the first time in their brief existence when Yake put them ahead, 2-1, at 7:20 of the second.