Red Wings Surge Past the Ducks

The Detroit Red Wings found a new way to torment the Mighty Ducks on Monday night at Anaheim Arena.

Instead of blowing them out of the building right from the start, as they had in the past, the Red Wings teased the Ducks by sleep skating through the first two periods.

But with the game on the line, Detroit roared by the faltering Ducks with four third-period goals in a 6-4 victory before a sellout crowd of 17,174.

The Ducks could have moved ahead of Winnipeg in the race for the Western Conference’s final playoff berth and within two points of second-place Vancouver in the Pacific Division, but Sheldon Kennedy, Dino Ciccarelli and Steve Yzerman trashed all that.

Their third-period goals extended Detroit’s unbeaten streak to eight and stopped the Ducks’ three-game winning streak. It also was the Ducks’ 13th loss in 19 home games.

“I was suspecting we’d be out of gas in the third period and I was right,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “We were playing the best team in the league right now, and for two periods we played them pretty good.”

But after the Ducks killed off a two-man disadvantage early in the third period, they seemed to hit the wall.

Kennedy scored at the 5:39 mark to tie the score at 3-3. Ciccarelli scored a little more than a minute later. Yzerman scored at 16:00 and Ciccarelli added an empty net goal in the final minute.

“When they got their first goal in the third period it seem to elevate their (spirits) and they just took off,” Duck winger Terry Yake said.

Ciccarelli wasn’t particularly worried, simply waiting for better things to happen in the third period.

“I think you’ve got to find a way to win the game,” said Ciccarelli, who scored the 501st and 502nd goals of his career. “We brought it back with the goal by Kennedy, then the goal I scored. Our game plan is to attack them and try to frustrate them. We’re able to frustrate a lot of teams that way.”

Detroit outshot the Ducks, 15-5, in the third period, one more measure of their superiority late in the game. Duck goaltender Ron Tugnutt made 26 saves, but it didn’t impress Wilson.

“To be honest, Ron Tugnutt has played better games,” Wilson said. “A team like Detroit takes advantage of mistakes. We made a few mental mistakes.”

The Red Wings turned three giveaways in the Ducks’ zone into goals and Troy Loney lost track of Kennedy, which led to a break-away and the game-tying goal.

The Ducks were even with the Red Wings, 1-1, after the first period, then led, 3-2, after the second.

That was no small victory considering the Ducks’ staggering starts in their first two games against Detroit. They trailed the Red Wings, 3-0, after the first period en route to a 7-2 loss on opening night and fell behind, 2-0, in a 5-2 defeat at Detroit on Dec. 14.

Monday, defenseman Bobby Dollas’ power-play goal with less than 3 minutes left in the second period put the Ducks ahead, 3-2.

Another Duck defenseman, Bill Houlder, tied the score at 2-2 at the 14:36 mark of the second period. It was Houlder’s 10th goal of the season, putting him third in scoring on the team behind Yake (15) and Bob Corkum (13).

In the first period, Patrik Carnback scored his first goal since Nov. 26, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead at the 12:27 mark. He swatted a backhanded pass from defenseman Alexei Kasatonov over the right shoulder of goalie Chris Osgood.

Duck Notes

Randy Ladouceur suffered a contusion on his right thigh after Detroit’s Darren McCarty checked him 1:33 into the game. Ladouceur, who has played in all 44 games this season, did not return to the game. . . . Joe Sacco suffered a bruised left hip in the first period, but he returned in the second. . . . Steven King missed his fourth consecutive game with a sore back and a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Jan. 1 against Florida. . . . Sean Hill missed his second game in a row because of a sprained left shoulder.