Devils Get Big Jump on Ducks : Hockey: New Jersey’s five goals in eight minutes of the first period are enough to hold off Anaheim, 6-3.

So, how long does it take the Mighty Ducks to dig a hole so deep that all 20 of them together can’t climb back out of it?

About eight minutes.

That’s how quickly the Ducks allowed the New Jersey Devils to score five goals from the opening faceoff Friday in the Ducks’ 6-3 loss in front of 16,666 at Anaheim Arena.

“We just jumped in the ol’ abyss,” said goaltender Guy Hebert, who took over barely 6 1/2 minutes into the game after starter Ron Tugnutt allowed his fourth goal.

Never mind that after falling behind, 5-0, the Ducks held the Devils scoreless for more than 51 minutes before Bernie Nicholls scored an empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining.

This one was all but over after an exasperated Tugnutt was replaced at 6:32, after allowing four goals--including two a mere 36 seconds apart, and three in a span of 2:24.

“You can’t dig a deeper hole than that,” Coach Ron Wilson said--obviously hoping his team doesn’t prove him wrong any time this season. “That would have been an easy time for anybody to quit, down 5-0 with nothing going your way. We stopped the bleeding, and got back in it. . . . Then in the third period we hit the post two times. That could have been the difference, but it wasn’t. We have to live with our regrets of the first period. It was a great response by our players, but I don’t want them to be satisfied after allowing five goals in the first eight minutes. That’s nothing to be proud of.”

Tugnutt was upset about the first goal, a power-play goal by Valeri Zelepukin 1:55 into the game, apparently believing it was scored on a high-stick. An inconclusive review by officials let it stand, and Tugnutt’s trouble was just beginning.

Corey Millen scored at 4:08 after picking up the puck in the neutral zone. He struggled to control it out front with a Duck defender on him, but managed to score anyway.

Thirty-six seconds later, Bill Guerin scored on a deflection of Bruce Driver’s shot from the left point. Less than two minutes later, Tom Chorske cut across the slot and easily swept the puck past Tugnutt for a 4-0 lead.

It was time for another in the string of Duck firsts: the first time a goalie was replaced.

Wilson sent Hebert in for the frustrated Tugnutt, who faced only seven shots, but saw four settle into the net behind him.

“The only reason I took him out was as a way of shaking up the team,” Wilson said. “We weren’t ready. That, and everything they shot hit the net.”

It was only about a minute and a half before Hebert gave up a goal--Guerin scored his second of the game at 8:05 after getting control of a redirected puck in the slot.

The Ducks--shut out by the Devils in New Jersey last month--didn’t interrupt the New Jersey onslaught until Tim Sweeney knocked in a rebound after a couple of attempts by Terry Yake at 10:01 of the first to make it 5-1.

They added another--a rare power-play goal--at 7:13 of the second, when Anatoli Semenov scored off Peter Douris’ perfect pass across the goal mouth. It was Semenov’s fourth goal of the season and 12th point. Since wingers Douris and Garry Valk joined him on the first line for Wednesday’s game, Semenov has three goals and five points, and has overtaken Terry Yake as the team’s leading scorer.

When Bob Corkum added a wraparound goal--his team-leading fifth--at 10:35 of the second, the crowd began to feel the Ducks were back in it. They had come from behind to beat Dallas with a three-goal third period Wednesday. And scoreboard watchers’ might have noted that Ottawa was busy pulling off a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over Winnipeg after allowing five goals in the second period.

No such good fortune for the Ducks, who fought hard to score during the third period but were unable to convert on a two-man advantage they held for 1:41 after a slashing penalty to Ben Hankinson was followed by Claude Lemieux’s cross-check.

“It’s too bad we got a five-on-three and weren’t sharp,” Wilson said. “We threw it around like a Sunday School team.”

That was the view from one dressing room. New Jersey Coach Jacques Lemaire said was “upset” with the way his team played with the lead.

“You have to respect the opponent all the time, even when it’s 5-0,” he said.

And one final comment.

“I have a headache.”

Duck Notes

Mario Lemieux is scheduled to play against the Kings tonight at the Forum, and is optimistic he’ll be able to play in Sunday’s game against the Ducks. If he does, it will mark the first time Lemieux has played consecutive games since returning from off-season back surgery Oct. 28. . . . Coach Ron Wilson was upset that the video goal judge was unable to make a conclusive determination on New Jersey’s disputed first goal because the arena video didn’t capture the whole play. “Our replay system is an embarrassment to the NHL,” he said. . . . Right wing Jim Thomson returned after missing 10 of the last 11 games recovering from a shoulder injury. . . . Captain Troy Loney missed a fourth game with a bruised right knee, but is eager to be able to play Sunday against his former Pittsburgh teammates.