Tugnutt Can’t Quite Save the Day for Mighty Ducks

Goaltender Ron Tugnutt saw the windup clearly. But then the tangle of bodies moved in front of the net and he had to rely on guess work.

In a flash, the puck was past Tugnutt and into the back of the Mighty Duck net. Goal.

Quebec’s Mike Ricci won a faceoff, sending the puck along the boards to Martin Rucinsky, who passed it back to Alexei Gusarov, who was standing just inside the blue line.

Gusarov faded left, toward the center of the rink, and fired a slap shot toward Tugnutt.

Tugnutt had a clear view of all that, but saw nothing after the puck left Gusarov’s stick. Later, someone told Tugnutt that Scott Young had deflected the puck, sending it trickling into the net with 0.5 seconds left in the second period.

“More than anything it’s anticipation,” Tugnutt said of trying to stop a shot he can’t see. “You hope it hits you or goes wide.”

Tugnutt handled every other shot easily, but so did Quebec goalie Stephane Fiset and the Nordiques won hockey’s version of a pitchers’ duel, 1-0, Friday at Anaheim Arena.

“This is only supposed to happen for us not against us,” Tugnutt said after stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced against his former team.

“I think we played well. Their goalie made some key saves. Give Stephane credit.”

Friday’s game was ugly from start to finish. Even the simplest passes seemed to always be mishandled. Scoring chances came and went . . . awry.

If not for sharp goaltending from Tugnutt and Fiset, it would have been a truly forgettable night.

Tugnutt hadn’t donned a Quebec uniform since 1991-92, but he said the competitive juices were flowing right from the start.

He had already beaten the Edmonton Oilers, who did not protect him in the expansion draft, three times, including a 6-3 victory Sunday. And there was no question that Coach Ron Wilson would start Tugnutt against Quebec, where he played for all or part of five seasons.

“We (he and Hebert) have won five out of seven against our former teams,” Tugnutt said.

But Tugnutt couldn’t stop a shot he never saw and a deflection he only heard about later and the Ducks lost, 1-0. It was as simply as that.