Bruins Bow to Bellows

He has been a godsend, a much-needed veteran to fill several glaring holes for the Mighty Ducks. He bolstered the second line, added depth, experience and a few victories too.

But until Monday, Brian Bellows had not scored a goal for the Ducks. He had to be content with helping to snap them out of the season-opening funk that threatened to knock them from contention before Thanksgiving.

Bellows chucked his recent method of operation Monday, scoring his first goal as a Duck in a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at the FleetCenter.

“Guys on the bench were yelling, ‘Get the puck, get the puck,’ ” Bellows said.

The Ducks weren’t giving Bellows a hard time. They knew there was added significance to his first goal since Oct. 31 when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It also was his 448th career goal, tying him with Rick Middleton for 35th on the NHL’s all-time list. And that’s a puck worth saving.

Before the Ducks acquired Bellows in a Nov. 18 trade with the Lightning, people kept asking him about scoring 500 goals. But it had been so long since his last one, he stopped thinking about it.

He had to settle for aiding the Ducks’ recent turnaround and giving them something they’ve never had in their four-year history: a strong second line.

Although Bellows, Jari Kurri and Kevin Todd had been creating a steady flow of scoring chances, Bellows couldn’t finish one in his first nine games as a Duck.

“When the puck doesn’t go in, you just keep trying to make the most of it,” Bellows said. “It helps when you’re in a slump and the team is winning. Nothing is worse than being in a slump and having the team lose.”

Since the trade, the Ducks are 6-2-2 and no longer resemble the bumbling crew that was 1-9-2 in October.

In the end on Monday, they hardly needed Bellows’ goal. It merely provided third-period insurance. Bellows’ slap shot from just inside the blue line after a drop pass from Kurri gave the Ducks a 5-2 lead at the 6:51 mark of the third period.

“It was beautiful,” said Bellows, who also assisted on the Ducks’ first goal. “I just walked right into the pass. I still did it the hard way. It bounced off him [Boston goaltender Bill Ranford], up his arm and then into the net.”

Joe Sacco, Steve Rucchin, Ted Drury and Teemu Selanne also scored for the Ducks, who were 1-1-1 on their three-game trip to Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Boston.

It could have been a better trip, particularly since the Ducks led in each game. But it also could have been far worse, particularly Monday.

On Friday, they led Buffalo, 1-0, but were tied, 1-1.

On Saturday, they led Pittsburgh, 3-1, but lost, 5-3.

And they led Boston, 2-0, before losing the lead in a 44-second span early in the second period.

They also lost goalie Guy Hebert, who was accidentally conked in the head when Troy Mallette lost control of his stick while chasing a loose puck behind the Duck net late in the second period.

Hebert was left dazed in his own net and had to be helped to the dressing room. Mikhail Shtalenkov finished the game and stopped all 11 shots he faced.

“I just felt a wicked, sharp pain and the next thing I knew I looked up and saw the trainer standing over me,” said Hebert, who suffered nothing more than a headache.

“I didn’t want to come out. First, because I felt like I was playing pretty well and second, because I didn’t want to put Mikhail in that kind of situation.”

The Ducks didn’t fold. At that point, they led, 4-2, thanks in part to a gritty goal produced by the fourth line of Drury, Ken Baumgartner and Warren Rychel and Selanne’s team-leading 17th goal.

Drury was knocked off his feet on a hard check by Mallette, but bounced up and zoomed to the front of the net where Baumgartner’s pass was waiting. Drury’s slap shot beat Ranford for the go-ahead goal at the 9:06 mark.

“It was a very inspirational goal for us,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a pretty good win for us. We’re still on a pretty good roll.”