Tugnutt Fills Bill for Canadiens : Hockey: Montreal sought capable backup goalie. He is in 5-2 victory.

When the game was won, Ron Tugnutt raised his arms high and beamed behind his mask exactly as he did way back in October the first time the Mighty Ducks won a game.

But this time, the teammates who hugged him and clapped him on the helmet at Anaheim Arena wore bleu, blanc et rouge.

If Tugnutt, traded to the Montreal Canadiens a week and a half ago, held a private hope that he could for one night make the Ducks look like they traded the wrong goalie, he left satisfied.

He stopped 24 of 26 shots by his teammates of 10 days ago in a 5-2 Montreal victory in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174.

Of course, it helped that he had the Stanley Cup champions in front of him.

Tugnutt and Guy Hebert were friendly partners when they were Coach Ron Wilson’s “No. 1 and 1-A” tandem. Wednesday found them at opposite ends of the ice.

The day of the trade, Tugnutt was disappointed. He has gotten over it.

“I think things were working out very well here and I didn’t see the need for a change,” Tugnutt said. “Since then, I’ve settled down and know I have a chance to win a Stanley Cup.”

The Ducks’ recent habit of skipping the introduction of opponents’ starting lineups to allow more time for their pregame entertainment rituals is disrespectful. But by neglecting to announce the Canadien starters, they took away the fans’ chance to welcome back Tugnutt.

Hebert was shaky at the start, allowing five goals, four of them on long-range shots. It was the third time in his four starts since Tugnutt was traded that he has given up at least four.

“Guy was not very sharp tonight,” Wilson said.

Tugnutt saw that, too, and his reaction was concern, not gloating.

“I think Guy Hebert is a great goaltender. He’s proved a lot this year with what he’s done,” Tugnutt said. “It was a hard battle for No. 1 and I think it really helped us both. I hope he doesn’t lose his edge now. Someone can always come up behind you.”

Montreal got to Hebert early, when Vincent Damphousse’s power-play slapshot from near the blue line beat Hebert on the glove side at 5:23 of the first period.

Tugnutt’s old teammates didn’t let him think shutout long, though, with Peter Douris picking up his own rebound to tie the score, 1-1, at 11:21 of the period.

Montreal scored two more power-play goals, by Brian Bellows and Mathieu Schnieder.

The Canadiens led, 3-1, after two periods and, 5-1, midway through the third, as Ed Ronan and John LeClair also scored. Patrik Carnback scored the Ducks’ other goal late in the third.

It also was an emotion-charged game for center Stephan Lebeau, who was sent to the Ducks in the trade. He wanted to beat his old teammates, too, and he came whisker-close to scoring a goal in the third period.

The old relationships made for some jokes--and some intensity.

In what was probably a bit of an inside joke, Duck defenseman Sean Hill tried a length-of-the-ice shot at Tugnutt just before he went off for a change. Hill and the Ducks know “the book” some opponents have on Tugnutt is to catch him off balance with long shots--though it’s usually from the red line--not from the far end.

Emotions were higher when a crush of Canadiens cornered Terry Yake after he tried to score from close range.

“Guys were poking the puck after I covered it up, four or five times,” Tugnutt said. “My teammates here don’t like that. My teammates kept sticking up for me.”

Duck Notes

Six fans let it be known they are ready to see Canadian Olympic star Paul Kariya in a Duck uniform, standing and waving while wearing white T-shirts that spelled out K-A-R-I-Y-A one letter at a time. The last “A” was on the chest of a toddler in a man’s arms. Kariya probably won’t decide whether to join the Ducks now or finish the season at the University of Maine until next week, according his family’s legal adviser, Don Baizley. The Ducks aren’t optimistic they’ll reach a contract agreement this season: “Our offense could change dramatically if Paul was to come, but I’m not holding my breath for him,” Coach Ron Wilson said.