Ducks’ Playoff Hopes Rise as They Hold Off Capitals

The Mighty Ducks used to be nothing more than a we-think-we-can team, outwardly full of unreasonable optimism they could make the playoffs. In reality, the veteran players knew they probably couldn’t.

But things aren’t like they used to be, and the Ducks showed it in a gritty 2-1 victory over Washington at USAir Arena on Tuesday night. They’ve won five games in a row for the first time in club history, and they closed to one point behind Winnipeg for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

“It’s virgin territory,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said after the Ducks forged a 2-1 lead and held off the Capitals for the final 30 minutes, fending off a six-on-four attack in the last 61 seconds.

Veteran tough guy Todd Ewen, who returned from a two-game NHL suspension just in time to punch Todd Krygier, a former Duck who seemed bent on revenge for his recent trade, tried to explain the difference between the Ducks of the past and the Ducks of the present.

“At Christmas, we didn’t have any realistic aspirations of making the playoffs,” Ewen said. “Now it’s not that we would would like to make the playoffs, we know we can. For this team, it’s the first time that’s actually been the case.”

General Manager Jack Ferreira is operating under the same conviction. Instead of dealing veterans to playoff-bound teams for prospects at the trading deadline, he’s making deals for the stretch run. After reacquiring veteran center Anatoli Semenov on Tuesday afternoon, he was poised Tuesday night to make a second deal for a tough guy before the trading deadline at noon Pacific time today.

“I will have a deal tomorrow morning, if nothing goes crazy,” Ferreira said after urgently phoning Wilson following the game to alert him he wanted fledgling tough guy Jeremy Stevenson to return to Baltimore of the American Hockey League. “It’s a guy that fills that role,” Ferreira said, declining to name the players involved in the deal because of an agreement with the other team.

“You’ll find out in the morning,” Wilson said.

Tough guys available around the league include Toronto’s Ken Baumgartner, Tampa Bay’s Enrico Ciccone and Ottawa’s Dennis Vial.

Against the Capitals Tuesday on a night when Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya were held without a point--Selanne for the first time in 16 games in a Duck uniform--the Ducks’ second line took over.

Valeri Karpov scored the first goal of the game a minute and 22 seconds into the second period off a feed from Steve Rucchin, but the Capitals countered 15 seconds later when Stefan Ustorf scored the tying goal.

Rucchin put the Ducks ahead to stay at 8:35 of the second off a pass from Karpov on a two-on-one rush, and the Duck defense and goalie Guy Hebert shut down the Capitals the rest of the way.

“Guy was outstanding,” Wilson said of Hebert’s 33 saves, including one when he swept the puck off the goal line in the third.

The most impressive thing about the game was how long the Ducks held off Washington’s bid to tie.

“We all knew this was a really important game,” Hebert said. “This gets us off on the right foot and it keeps the pressure on the other teams when they get up and read the paper.”

“This is huge,” said Joe Sacco, who assisted on both goals. “This is a tough road trip and this is a great start. We’ve got to keep it going in St. Louis. We’re capable of beating anyone right now.”

Duck Notes

Center David Sacco and right wing Jim Campbell were reassigned to Baltimore. . . . Right wing Peter Douris underwent successful surgery to repair a bilateral hernia Tuesday at Anaheim Memorial Hospital. . . . Todd Krygier, traded to Washington March 8, took three penalties, including one for boarding. “He threw more hits than he had in the last two months,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “He was all charged up.”

* SEMENOV RETURNS: Center Anatoli Semenov comes back to Anaheim in deal with the Flyers. C3