Ducks Give Ottawa a Reason to Party

It was federal election night Monday in Canada, and there was a rare celebration in the nation’s capital.

The Senators won.

Ottawa’s second-year NHL team defeated the first-year Mighty Ducks, 4-1, before 10,206 at the Civic Centre, a victory that was far less predictable than the political triumph by the Liberal Party.

It was the Senators’ first victory of the season, and only the 11th in their existence. The game also marked only the fifth time they have ever held an opponent to less than two goals.

It was a frustrating loss for the Ducks, who entered and left the building believing they were the better team.

The Ducks led, 1-0, after the first period, but Ottawa scored three third-period goals, including an empty-netter with 40 seconds to play after Duck Coach Ron Wilson pulled goaltender Ron Tugnutt for an extra attacker.

“It’s frustrating because we played well enough to win, again, and we didn’t,” said Wilson, whose team has scored only two goals over the past three games. “We should have been up 3-0 or 4-0 at one point. We were all over them. They couldn’t get out of their own end. We were forechecking and we were hitting and doing all the things we do well. Unfortunately, we didn’t score again, but it’s going to come.”

The Ducks were rankled by three disputed goals, including the go-ahead goal by rookie Alexandre Daigle at 7:45 of the third, which they claim came after the whistle had been blown.

The Ducks were also unhappy about an apparent Duck power-play goal on a deflection by Troy Loney that was disallowed at 1:06 of the third because of what they said was a quick whistle.

“Unfortunately, the one goal we scored to make it 2-1, the referee blows the whistle real quick on a loose puck sitting there in the crease, but those things are going to happen,” Wilson said. “Definitely, it’s a turnaround. How do you get back a goal you think you’ve scored and you didn’t? Our team struggles so hard to score, maybe we got a little down.

“Those things are going to happen. Our guys worked hard, and I thought pretty much, with the exception of seven or eight minutes, completely carried and dominated the play.”

The Ducks scored their only goal at 4:39 of the first when checking center Bob Corkum followed his own shot in from the slot. Goaltender Craig Billington gloved it, but let the puck trickle free, and Corkum found it by the right post and knocked it in for his second goal of the season.

Duck Notes

Forward Peter Douris made his season debut after missing the exhibition season and first nine games because of sprained ligaments in his left knee. . . . Center Shaun Van Allen was scratched to make room for Douris.