Ducks Finally Stopped by Jets : Hockey: After six failures, Winnipeg exploits power play and Anaheim’s specialty team struggles in 4-2 victory.

Losing to the Mighty Ducks is no great embarrassment.

Until you do it six times in a row, as the Winnipeg Jets did.

Urged by one of the local papers to “get quacking,” the Jets finally beat the Ducks for the first time, 4-2, on Friday night before 12,843 at Winnipeg Arena.

Five on five, the Mighty Ducks were a goal better than the Jets. But the Ducks didn’t play enough of the game at equal strength, and the struggles of their specialty teams hurt them again. The Jets scored three power-play goals in the first period, and it turned out that was the game.

Nikolai Khabibulin, a rookie goaltender who has taken Tim Cheveldae’s job, turned away 39 of the Ducks’ season-high 41 shots, allowing only a rebound goal by Anatoli Semenov at 6:18 of the second and a goal by Stephan Lebeau at 16:05 of the period.

The Ducks’ penalty-killing ranked 24th of 26 NHL teams, at 77.3%, before Friday, and they were facing a Winnipeg team that has three of the league’s top 10 scorers--Alexei Zhamnov, Teemu Selanne and Keith Tkachuk--on its first power-play unit.

“Their power play’s been pretty successful lately,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “You don’t want to take penalties, but you don’t know what’s going to be called right now. We talked about not taking penalties, but it’s easier said than done right now. Unfortunately we got behind the eight-ball on their power play.”

Wilson quibbled in particular with a game misconduct Todd Ewen drew from referee Terry Gregson for instigating a fight with Stephane Quintal in the first. Defenseman Bobby Dollas also said he was frustrated by chippy play and inconsistent officiating. In any case, the Ducks stopped Winnipeg’s fifth-ranked power play only three of six times.

Zhamnov scored his eighth goal of the season at 7:50 of the first, Quintal scored another 31 seconds later, and Selanne scored his 10th at 11:16.

Mikhail Shtalenkov, pulled after giving up three goals in the first period of a 6-3 victory over San Jose on Saturday in his last start, got to stay this time.

“You’re giving up goals on the power play, you can’t blame the goaltender,” Wilson said.

The Ducks created more scoring chances of their own than they have in any game this season, but they went 0 for 6 on their power play--including two chances with a two-man advantage. They have scored only five power-play goals in 62 opportunities this season.

“We had two five-on-threes and I don’t think we even got a shot,” said rookie Paul Kariya, who logged a tremendous amount of ice time, even double-shifting on the power play. “They had three power-play goals, so five on five, we beat them 2-1. That can’t happen. We’ve got to start putting the puck in the net on the power play.”

The Ducks are 2-9-1 since starting the season 3-2, with two of those victories over the Jets. But they have controlled their defensive problems and seem close to breaking through offensively.

“I think we’re settling down,” Wilson said. “Some of our players have to somehow get their confidence back so they can finish off the chances they’re creating.”

*

Duck Notes

Veteran defenseman Tom Kurvers was scratched for a third consecutive game because Coach Ron Wilson has been disappointed with his defensive play. . . . Defenseman Robert Dirk required nine stitches to close a cut on his face after hitting with the goal post in the second period. He returned during the third. . . . Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky fell after colliding with Winnipeg’s Dallas Drake in the third and twisted his right ankle, the same ankle that has caused him trouble because of Reiters Syndrome, a virus that affects his joints. He also returned.