These Goalies Aren’t Basket Cases

Both were headed in the right direction.

The Ducks’ Guy Hebert and the Kings’ Byron Dafoe, goalies who have labored through recent difficulties, were on the upswing at the right time. Both had three-game winning streaks that helped their teams in the chase for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

They had struggled and been questioned. The opportunity was there Sunday to put those things a little farther in the past. It was Hebert who took another step forward.

He extended his streak by stopping 29 of 31 shots in the Ducks’ 3-2 victory over the Kings Sunday at the Pond.

“You get a few wins and you start seeing a little more confidence from your teammates,” Hebert said. “You see some trust.”

Confidence and trust, two things Hebert has sought and, at times, has been withheld.

There are suspicions, from Coach Ron Wilson, that Hebert can be shaken. Get a shot past him early and the red lights start flashing--behind the net and in Wilson’s head.

“For some reason, if Guy plays well the first 10 minutes his confidence grows,” Wilson said. “If he doesn’t, he seems to get down on himself. He wasn’t that way early in the season, but that has been the case for a while now.”

Hebert won only one of five starts in early February, then injured his neck against Vancouver Feb. 15. He started only one of the next eight games.

“Sometimes Guy thinks too much back there,” right wing Todd Ewen said. “He will get down on himself. When he lets his reactions take over, he does a pretty good job.”

Hebert has reacted well lately. He beat San Jose, 4-3, on Feb. 25, even though the Ducks nearly squandered a 3-1 lead. He started again Friday, but was a bit wobbly in a 3-2 overtime victory over Buffalo.

Sunday, he was sharp.

The Kings’ two goals came on power plays. Hebert came up big with the score tied. Jari Kurri came in on a breakaway early in the third period, but Hebert took away the angle and Kurri’s shot went wide.

There were no questions afterward about his confidence.

“Whether you’re Patrick Roy or whoever, if you give up a quick one, it can put you back on your heels,” Hebert said. “You give up two or three goals and you’re going to be sitting on the bench.”

Dafoe had been there.

He went 0-9-1 during a two-month stretch before starting the three-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory against Montreal on March 2. The problem, on analysis, was more physical than mental, according to his coach.

“I think he was overplaying his position and really fighting the puck more,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “He was giving up a lot of rebounds. He didn’t have that confidence he had early on.”

That changed after a 3-2 victory over Montreal on March 2, which started his three-game winning streak. Sunday, it ended, although Dafoe nearly mirrored Hebert’s performance.

He stopped 27 shots, but paid for a Kurri mistake in the first period, when the Ducks’ Joe Sacco intercepted a pass and scored. Dafoe was also beaten twice by the Teemu Selanne-to-Paul Kariya combination.

It ended Dafoe’s steak and extended Hebert’s.

Hebert: “You get a few wins and you get some confidence.”

In yourself and from others.