Ducks’ Conservative Play Smothers Canuck Offense : Hockey: Hebert gets the shutout with 22 saves. Van Allen, Semenov and Corkum score in Anaheim’s 3-0 victory.

Sean Hill toyed with the puck behind the Mighty Duck net as the final seconds wound down Friday night, waiting for the moment he could skate around and present it to goaltender Guy Hebert along with a bear hug.

Hebert had just shut out the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at Anaheim Arena for the third shutout of his career, his second this season--and the Ducks’ first at home.

But this was one game when there weren’t enough pucks to go around. Hebert only had to make 22 saves, and spent much of the game watching from afar as the Ducks played conservative offense with the lead and clogged the neutral zone at every opportunity.

“It’s my favorite spot to be in, when the puck’s in the other zone,” Hebert said. “This was great for our fans. We’ve had a tough time at home, and haven’t had the results we wanted. But tonight everyone was blocking shots and the forwards were coming back.”

The victory moved the Ducks into sole possession of third place in the Pacific Division and the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

They also broke a three-game winning streak by the Canucks, second in the division and eight points ahead of the Ducks.

“This was just a good, old-fashioned whupping,” Vancouver Coach Pat Quinn said. “They beat us to the puck all night. I don’t care if on paper we have more talent, you’re not going to win if the other team wants it more and plays harder.”

All the talent of Pavel Bure and Jimmy Carson couldn’t buy the Canucks a goal Friday. It was the first time the Canucks have been shut out this season.

Hebert, 9-5-2 in last 16 decisions, had to make 38 saves on Dec. 15 in a 1-0 victory over Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens to record the Ducks’ first shutout. Ron Tugnutt also had to make 38 when he shut out the New York Islanders, 3-0, on Dec. 28 at Nassau Coliseum.

This was easier.

“I think Guy had a couple of point blank saves. We expect that from our goalies,” Terry Yake said. “For the most part, I think it was one of his easier shutouts, but you’d have to ask him. It’s a big deal for all of us, not just Guy.”

Shaun Van Allen scored the only goal the Ducks needed at 4:32 of the first period with the Ducks short-handed. Van Allen scored when he took the puck off the boards and carried it to the left circle. His slap shot seemed to glance off goalie Kay Whitmore’s left pad before finding the net.

By the end of the first period, the Ducks led, 2-0.

Anatoli Semenov, who returned recently from a seven-week layoff with a dislocated left elbow and had sat out the last two games because of lingering soreness, scored the Ducks’ second goal on a pass from Tim Sweeney at 15:26.

Sweeney held the puck in the right circle and faked a shot as Semenov cut to the net, then passed across the slot to Semenov, who scored from just in front of the left post.

Down two goals, the Canucks tried to counter with aggressive forechecking. And with the Ducks trying to clog the neutral zone, the result was mostly a game that seemed to go nowhere, and a scoreless second period.

That was fine with the Ducks, but their two-goal lead was too tenuous for them to relax until late in the third, when Bob Corkum’s goal at 16:04 made it 3-0. Corkum’s goal, his 18th, came off assists from Garry Valk and Sean Hill.

“I was a little nervous going into the third,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “We’ve been in that situation before, and other times we’ve given up a quick goal and they’ve been right back in it.”

Duck Notes

Defenseman Bill Houlder, the team’s third-leading scorer, was scratched for the first time this season. The move came one game after his most recent defensive blunder, when his bad pass in the defensive zone led to the tie-breaking goal in a loss Wednesday to Calgary. “Billy’s play has dropped off a little bit,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “It’s an cheap way to get a message to him.”