St. Louis Brings ‘Streaking’ Ducks to a Halt

The streak is over.

OK, so it wasn’t much of a streak. But it was the Mighty Ducks’ only winning streak of the season, even if it was only two games.

Still, their 3-2 loss to St. Louis Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 16,419 at the Pond was no great setback--though it did cost them a chance to emerge from last place in the Western Conference.

Nevertheless, the Ducks are 2-1-1 in their last four games, a marked improvement for a team that set a franchise record with an eight-game losing streak earlier this season.

The Ducks nearly scored the tying goal twice, but St. Louis goalie Grant Fuhr stopped Teemu Selanne on a breakaway with about 10 minutes left and then an apparent goal by Steve Rucchin was disallowed because referee Rob Shick had blown his whistle.

It was a rather quick whistle, with Fuhr only momentarily covering the puck with his right arm after Darren Van Impe’s shot caromed off the post behind him before Rucchin jammed it in with about seven minutes left.

“He said the puck was underneath Grant Fuhr’s glove and [a Duck player] pushed his glove into the net,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “Someone said the puck was never frozen. I didn’t have an opportunity to see the replay yet. You can’t appeal. He made a decision and that’s that.”

The Blues had taken their first lead of the game at 8:34 of the final period, when center Robert Petrovicky, called up from the minors last week, found enough space to shoot the puck into the near corner for a 3-2 lead. Petrovicky’s goal came just as a St. Louis power play ended.

The score was tied, 2-2, going into the third, with the scoring coming in a couple of flurries.

The Ducks scored the first goal of the game when Rucchin skillfully deflected Paul Kariya’s power-play point shot up and into the net past Fuhr 9:23 into the game.

St. Louis countered with a power-play goal of its own only a couple of minutes later. Pierre Turgeon set up behind the net and even though Bobby Dollas was in position, slipped the puck past Dollas’ skate to Brett Hull, whose quick-release wrist shot beat Guy Hebert to the upper corner of the net at 11:33. The goal was Hull’s 11th of the season, but the 496th of his career. With four more, he’ll give the NHL its first father-son combination of 500-goal scorers. Bobby Hull finished his career with 610.

Brian Bellows, who assisted on both Duck goals, clipped the post with a shot later in the first. And Blues rookie Jim Campbell, the onetime Duck who scored the winning goal against them earlier this month, was turned away by Hebert on a terrific chance.

But the next goal didn’t come until midway through the second, when Jari Kurri stayed after a rebound and reached out with his backhand to knock it into the net from a crowd in front--paying the price when Turgeon decked him afterward. The goal was Kurri’s fifth of the season, and moved him into sole possession of 12th on the NHL career scoring list with 1,354 points, passing Guy Lafleur.

Little more than a minute later, though, the Ducks allowed St. Louis to score the tying goal when Geoff Courtnall took a pass from Peter Zezel from behind the net to score at 11:08 of the second.

“I don’t think we suffered a letdown,” Wilson said. “It was a very close game. They scored one more. We didn’t bury our chances.”

Duck Notes

Teemu Selanne’s nine-game point streak was halted. . . . Defenseman Jason Marshall, whose right pinky is a mass of stitches after a slash Sunday against Detroit, didn’t play. Marshall skated Wednesday morning but didn’t have much control of his stick. “I didn’t know a finger that little could hurt that much,” he said. . . . Right wing Roman Oksiuta tried to skate but experienced recurring pain from a right ankle sprain suffered last week in practice.