Unlike Ducks, Penguins Bouncing Back

Their start was so bad it was almost laughable.

Expectations were high, but results didn’t come close to matching them.

The Mighty Ducks?

Yes, but no.

The team in question is the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose 2-9 start was about as disappointing as the Ducks’ 1-9-2 stumble out of the gate.

Like the Ducks, the Penguins made a couple of trades that helped to kick start a turnaround. They acquired Darius Kasparaitis and Andreas Johansson from the New York Islanders, Fredrick Olausson and Alex Hicks from the Ducks and Stu Barnes and Jason Woolley from Florida.

Unlike the Ducks, however, the Penguins could dig deep for additional help from three of the league’s most prolific scorers.

For the second time in five days, the Penguins distanced themselves from the Ducks, making a clear distinction in talent and accomplishment. Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux and Ron Francis made it happen.

Lemieux had two goals and an assist and Jagr and Francis each had two assists in the Penguins’ 7-3 victory over the Ducks Wednesday at the Pond.

Jagr extended his point streak to 12 games, and although his goal-scoring streak ended at nine games, he continues to lead the league with 29 goals and 42 points.

Lemieux moved into a second-place tie with Wayne Gretzky with 41 points.

Francis isn’t in the top 10 in scoring but still has nine goals and 34 points.

Including seven points Wednesday, that’s 117 points by one line. The Ducks simply couldn’t match up.

“These are the [offensive outbursts] I remember when I was on the other side of it,” said defenseman Kevin Hatcher, who was traded to Pittsburgh from Dallas last June. “These are the ones I was expecting.”

The wait is apparently over because the Penguins are clicking on all cylinders.

Wednesday’s rout extended the Penguins’ unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2). They also won their fifth consecutive road game.

Most important, as far as Coach Eddie Johnston is concerned, the Penguins finally reached the .500 mark.

“Now we’re finding ways to win,” Johnston said. “It’s been a hard grind to get to .500.”

What took so long?

The Penguins weren’t playing to their strengths, according to Johnston. They weren’t scoring as he believed they should.

They averaged a little more than two goals in their first 15 games, which wasn’t getting the job done. But since going 4-10-1, the Penguins started to pick up the pace and have averaged better than four goals a game.

To be sure, Jagr has been steady. Francis has chipped in about as expected. But Lemieux has begun to warm to the task. Lemieux’s two goals Wednesday gave him his first multiple-goal game of the season.

“It looks like he’s back having fun again,” Johnston said. “When he’s having fun, he’s dangerous.”