Last Stand Gives Ducks a Victory

That was some weird, wild stuff at the Pond on Friday night, where the Mighty Ducks’ J.F. Jomphe scored two goals within 13 seconds and Peter Bondra of the Washington Capitals had a hat trick despite missing a penalty-shot.

Jomphe’s rare feat helped rally the Ducks to a 5-4 victory in front of 17,174.

His first goal, at 17:51 of the second period, pulled the Ducks into a 3-3 tie after trailing by two goals in the first. Jomphe took a pass from Jari Kurri and lifted the puck into the top of the net over the stacked pads of goalie Jim Carey. A mere 13 seconds later, Jomphe came flying down the left wing and scored the go-ahead goal, setting off his own an exuberant celebration.

It was not only a club record for fastest two goals by one player, but also for the fastest two goals by any two players.

The NHL record--two goals by the same player in four seconds--is shared by Deron Quint, who scored twice in that span for Winnipeg in 1995, and Nels Stewart of the defunct Montreal Maroons, who did it in 1931.

Bondra, Washington’s leading scorer, was playing his first game after missing two weeks because of a groin strain, and tried mightily to pull the Capitals out of a losing streak that has reached five games.

He gave the Ducks a scare with 31 seconds left in the game when he cut the lead to one by scoring his 13th goal of the season with Washington holding a two-man advantage--the Capitals had pulled the goalie while on a power play. But the Ducks fended off the final, frantic attack.

“It was wild,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “I was really happy with our effort. We’ve got six or seven guys with the flu, including Paul [Kariya] and Teemu [Selanne]. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get ourselves back into it after the first.”

Bondra, who got his eighth career hat trick, scored twice in the first period--the first one short-handed--and got a gift-wrapped chance for his third in the second when he was awarded a penalty shot after referee Kerry Fraser ruled Duck defenseman Jason Marshall covered the puck with his glove in the crease.

The Ducks had taken a one-goal lead less than a minute earlier, and held onto it when Bondra--a 52-goal scorer last season--missed wide with a simple forehand shot.

“I had the right idea. I just missed the net,” Bondra said. “It was at the end of the period and the ice wasn’t the best, so I decided to keep it simple. I felt strong. It’s nice to be back, but the loss hurt us.”

Duck defenseman Bobby Dollas made the lead 5-3 when he scored on a power play at 4:53 of the third. Bondra’s last-minute goal turned Dollas’ goal into the game-winner.

Duck defenseman Dmitri Mironov scored twice and Teemu Selanne extended his point-scoring streak to eight games with an assist on Dollas’ goal.

The Ducks were without goalie Guy Hebert, who missed a second consecutive game recovering from a concussion. Hebert is still awakening with headaches four days after accidentally getting hit in the head with a stick against Boston. He sat out as a precaution, knowing the Ducks don’t play again until Friday against Calgary.

“One good thing is we do have a nice break, a whole week to get ready and get all the cobwebs out. I should be back to normal,” Hebert said. “I feel better every day, but I don’t feel 100%. That’s what I’m wrestling with, whether you go back in when you don’t feel just right.

“It’s a tough call. It’s not a pulled muscle, where you kind of know how far you can go. Something like this starts to get a little scary when you hear [Buffalo’s] Pat LaFontaine is being told to retire because of concussions.”

Backup goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov looked a bit shaky in the first period against the Capitals, a disastrous 20 minutes that left them trailing, 3-1, and inspired winger Warren Rychel to smash his stick as he went into the dressing room.