Ducks Need Biggest Comeback to End Losing Streak at Home : Hockey: They get four goals in 6:04 spurt during second period and beat Whalers, 6-3.

The Mighty Ducks didn’t bother with gimmicks such as wearing their road jerseys at home or sleeping in a hotel the night before their latest attempt to win a home game.

Instead, they broke their five-game Anaheim Arena losing streak with a lot of resolve and a little elbow grease.

No one could accuse them of doing it the easy way, as they fell behind by three goals before taking a 6-3 victory over the Hartford Whalers on Friday in front of 17,174, their fifth consecutive sellout.

It was the first time in their 46-game history they have overcome a three-goal deficit to win. Garry Valk’s empty-net goal with 34 seconds left after goalie Jeff Reese was pulled for an extra attacker started the victory celebration--the Ducks’ first at Anaheim Arena since they beat St. Louis on Dec. 12.

“This is a big monkey off our back,” said Tim Sweeney, who had two goals. “We were beginning to think we would never win at home again.”

The Ducks also got two goals and an assist from Patrik Carnback, who started the game centering the tough-guy line with Stu Grimson and Todd Ewen. But a few minutes into the game, Coach Ron Wilson put him with wingers Sweeney and former Whaler Terry Yake. The move paid off big, with the line contributing four goals.

It looked like more of the same lethargic home play when the Ducks dug a 3-0 hole, but they came alive in the second period. With four goals in a 6:04 outburst, they took a 4-3 lead.

Carnback got it started when he shoved across the second rebound at 10:47 after Yake took a swipe at the rebound of defenseman Don McSween’s shot. Sweeney had created the opportunity when he took the puck from defenseman James Patrick in the neutral zone.

A couple of minutes later, with the Ducks trying to kill Shaun Van Allen’s hooking penalty, Bob Corkum and Valk jumped out front on a two-on-one break. Corkum kept the puck and beat Reese for a short-handed goal, cutting the lead to 3-2.

Sweeney scored the tying goal from low in the right circle off a pass from Carnback at 14:46. Carnback scored the go-ahead goal a little more than two minutes later, when defenseman David Williams’ perfect pass up the middle sent him out on a breakaway. Carnback switched from his forehand to his backhand and then back to his forehand to beat Reese easily at 16:51.

It was the Ducks’ second four-goal period of the season, along with one during a 7-2 victory at Winnipeg last month.

The odd-man rushes kept piling up, and the Ducks took a 5-3 lead at 3:23 of the third when McSween, a journeyman defenseman who signed with the Ducks this week, dropped the puck back to Sweeney on another two-on-one. The goal was Sweeney’s second of the night and eighth of the season.

The Ducks’ resolve to put up stiffer opposition at home was punctured 29 seconds into the game, when defenseman Zarley Zalapski swept unchecked to pick up a rebound and put it in the net.

By early in the second period, the Ducks trailed, 3-0, after Michael Nylander converted a power-play rebound at 9:17 of the first and Brian Propp scored at 3:58 of the second.