50-Goal Season for Kariya

You would never have known how much Paul Kariya wanted his 50th goal of the season until the moment he didn’t get it.

Kariya already had his 49th goal in his pocket during the third period of the Mighty Ducks’ 5-2 victory over Winnipeg in the season finale Sunday, when he slid down the slot and threw a shot at Winnipeg goalie Nikolai Khabibulin.

Khabibulin snagged it with his glove, and Kariya spun away incredulous, nearly crouched over, his expression somewhere between a grimace and a grin.

“An unbelievable save,” Coach Ron Wilson said.

But before Kariya’s shift was over, he danced down the slot again and beat Khabibulin with a backhander for his 50th goal, setting off a tremendous celebration among his teammates and the crowd of 17,174 at the Pond.

Kariya became the eighth and final NHL player to reach 50 goals this season, and only the 16th player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season before the age of 22.

“I’m not big into points and goals,” said Kariya, 21. “But Ron told me as long as you have the chance to do something like that. . . . I didn’t care if it went in off my head.”

Kariya--who scored his first goal of the game late in the second--said he thought the puck was across the goal line on Khabibulin’s glove save and that he should have asked for a replay. He didn’t, but he scored about 20 seconds later.

“I find a lot of times when I miss opportunities I bear down and maybe score on the same shift,” Kariya said. “It’s become almost a good omen.”

Kariya got No. 50 just in time, with 14:24 left in a Duck season that ended a sliver shy of the playoffs, even though they soundly defeated the Jets.

The team actually finished tied for eighth, and Winnipeg won the tiebreaker with 36 victories to the Ducks’ 35. The loss cost the Jets home-ice advantage, and they’ll open a first-round series at Detroit on Wednesday.

“Here we are two points away and have the opportunity to have home ice--and we can’t even qualify for the playoffs,” Wilson said. “That’s a frustrating thing.”

The game was meaningless because Toronto and Vancouver clinched the last available spots Saturday.

“The lesson to be learned is you help yourselves,” Wilson said. “You can’t rely on other people.”

Kariya has always said goals and assists don’t matter much to him, only the team’s success.

“We didn’t make the playoffs so we have no chance to win the Stanley Cup,” he said. “Playing in the All-Star game was a real thrill, I always dreamed of that as a kid. This was great. But I would have given both to be in the playoffs.”

He didn’t seem to be looking to score early in the game, forcing a pass on a two-on-one early when perhaps he should have taken a shot.

“I don’t think Paul went in saying, ‘I’m two from 50,’ ” Wilson said. “But as soon as he scored at the end of the second period, I said I’m going to get him out there every other shift. I told the left wings, ‘You guys are going to sit down so we can give him as much a shot as we can.’ ”

Kariya put seven shots on goal--and two of them in the net.

“Paul got his 50th. That’s unbelievable,” said Teemu Selanne, who finished with 40 goals this season but scored a rookie-record 76 goals in 1993.

“I know how he feels, and it’s an incredible feeling,” Selanne said. “It’s something only a few people do, score 50 goals, and Paul is a guy who really deserves it.”

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Duck Notes

Captain Randy Ladouceur, 35, was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last 15 games. “If for some reason this is my last season, it’s nice to be out there in the last game. I don’t know what’s in store for me. I’ll talk to management in a few days and see what their plans are. If there’s some way I can stay here, I’d like to stay.” General Manager Jack Ferreira said there won’t be a decision for a couple of months. . . . The Ducks will be one of 10 teams in the NHL draft lottery May 19, but they won’t have a chance for the No. 1 pick because they didn’t finish among the bottom five. The Kings did, but their top pick belongs to Washington as part of their trade for Dimitri Khristich and Byron Dafoe. The draft is June 22 in St. Louis. . . . Duck defenseman Jason Marshall suffered a mild concussion when he was driven into the boards in the third on a hit by Jim McKenzie, who received an elbowing major.

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The Mighty Ducks in 1995-96

Oct. 9--The Mighty Ducks score twice in the first three minutes, but lose at Winnipeg, 4-3. Paul Kariya scores the first Duck goal of the season 1:24 into the game.

Oct. 13--Steve Rucchin scores two goals and the Mighty Ducks beat Buffalo, 4-1, in the Ducks’ final game in the Memorial Auditorium.

Oct. 18--The Mighty Ducks lose their home opener, 5-1, to Vancouver. Wild Wing, the team mascot, attempts to leap through a wall of fire during a pre-game show, but stumbles on his trampoline and falls on the flames. He is not seriously hurt.

Oct. 22--Garry Valk scores two goals and the Mighty Ducks defeat Winnipeg, 6-2, but the victory is overshadowed by the announcement that defenseman Milos Holan has been diagnosed with a slow-progressing form of leukemia.

Oct. 27--St. Louis scores three goals in the third period to win, 4-2. The loss leaves the Ducks at 2-8.

Nov. 8--Paul Kariya scores 2:35 into overtime to give the Mighty Ducks a 3-2 victory over Montreal, in the Ducks’ last visit to the Forum.

Nov. 11--Dave Karpa knocks in a loose puck with a minute left in regulation and the Mighty Ducks sneak past Ottawa, 3-2.

Nov. 15--Paul Kariya and Alex Hicks each score two goals and the Mighty Ducks surprise Colorado, 7-4.

Nov. 17--Peter Douris deflects a shot by Jason York past New York Islander goalkeeper Jamie McLennan with three-tenths of a second remaining in overtime, giving the Mighty Ducks a 2-1 victory and their eighth victory in 10 games.

Nov. 24--The Mighty Ducks blow a three-goal lead in the third period and lose to Chicago, 5-4, on Brent Sutter’s goal with a minute remaining in overtime.

Dec. 13--Paul Kariya has two goals and two assists, and Mikhail Shtalenkov stops 36 of 39 shots as the Mighty Ducks end a nine-game winless streak and Pittsburgh’s eight-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory over the Penguins.

Dec. 22--Vancouver scores four goals in the final 3:15, including three by Alexander Mogilny, to hand the Mighty Ducks a 6-2 loss.

Dec. 29--Two third-period goals by Garry Valk help the Mighty Ducks defeat San Jose, 4-2, and end a five-game losing streak.

Jan. 9--Paul Kariya scores his 24th goal to break the Mighty Ducks’ season record on the day he is named as a reserve to the Western Conference team for the All-Star game, and the Ducks play Philadelphia to a 2-2 tie.

Jan. 20--Paul Kariya scores a goal and has an assist for the Western Conference in a 5-4 loss to the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game in Boston.

Feb. 6--The Mighty Ducks trade Bob Corkum, an original member of the franchise, to Philadelphia for a minor league player and a draft pick.

Feb. 7--Teemu Selanne, a high-scoring forward and the 1992-93 NHL rookie of the year with Winnipeg, comes to the Mighty Ducks in exchange for Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky. The Ducks fall to Toronto, 2-1, to drop to 18-30-5, the 11th-best record in the Western Conference and five points out of a playoff spot.

Feb. 10--Despite a goal from Teemu Selanne in his Mighty Ducks debut, the New York Islanders beat the Ducks, 4-3.

Feb. 11--The Mighty Ducks end New Jersey’s eight-game unbeaten streak and their own four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory.

Feb. 17--Paul Kariya’s shot in overtime is deflected by King defenseman Marty McSorley past goaltender Kelly Hrudey as the Mighty Ducks win, 2-1.

Feb. 21--Alex Hicks’ second goal of the game, 1:35 into overtime, gives the Mighty Ducks a 4-3 victory over Boston in Teemu Selanne’s debut at the Pond. Earlier in the day, defenseman Milos Holan has bone marrow transplant that might cure his leukemia.

Feb. 25--Teemu Selanne scores a hat trick to spark the Mighty Ducks to a 4-3 victory over San Jose.

Feb. 28--Two goals by Paul Kariya spark the Mighty Ducks to a 5-2 victory over Montreal.

March 8--Moments after being hit in the face by the stick of Buffalo’s Brad May, Paul Kariya scores in overtime to give the Mighty Ducks a 3-2 victory over Buffalo.

March 10--Paul Kariya’s seventh game-winning goal of the season, off a pass from Teemu Selanne with 4:25 to play, gives the Mighty Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Kings.

March 17--Teemu Selanne scores his second hat trick with the Mighty Ducks, sparking them to a 5-1 victory over St. Louis in the first meeting of the two teams since the Blues’ trade for Wayne Gretzky.

March 19--The Mighty Ducks kill a six-on-four power play in the final 61 seconds to defeat Washington, 2-1, for a club-record fifth victory in a row. The Ducks reacquire Anatoli Semenov from Philadelphia.

March 22--Garry Valk’s hat trick sparks the Mighty Ducks to a 6-1 victory over St. Louis.

March 25--Detroit routs the Mighty Ducks, 5-1, ending the Ducks’ unbeaten streak at seven games.

April 3--Paul Kariya’s goal is enough to back Guy Hebert’s third shutout of the season in the Mighty Ducks’ 1-0 victory over Edmonton.

April 7--Paul Kariya’s 46th goal of the season and three assists pace the Mighty Ducks to a 5-3 victory over San Jose. Kariya’s four points push him past the 100-point mark for the season, at 101.

April 8--Guy Hebert’s second shutout in four games, a 2-0 victory over Vancouver, push the Mighty Ducks’ unbeaten streak to five games.

April 12--Steve Rucchin and Teemu Selanne score 27 seconds apart to spark a 5-3 Mighty Ducks victory over Dallas.

April 13--Toronto and Vancouver each win to clinch playoff berths, eliminating the Mighty Ducks on the second-to-last day of the season.

April 14--Paul Kariya scores two goals to finish with 50 and the Mighty Ducks close the season with a 5-2 victory over Winnipeg. The Ducks post a 35-39-8 record, including a 17-9-3 mark after the trade for Teemu Selanne.