Dollas Helps to Stabilize Ducks

The Mighty Ducks looked like a team imploding midway through their 3-3 tie against the Edmonton Oilers at the Pond on Wednesday night.

Dmitri Mironov, one of only two veteran defensemen left in the lineup after the suspension of J.J. Daigneault earlier in the day, was thrown out of the game in the second period after a two-handed slash that broke his stick and sent the Oilers’ Dan McGillis collapsing onto the ice holding his left hand.

It was the sort of play that tempts another suspension--Edmonton Coach Ron Low said he probably would send the tape to the league for review, saying “there was definite intent to injure.” Mironov’s ejection left the Ducks with only one defenseman in the game with more than a year’s NHL experience--Bobby Dollas.

Dollas proved to be one of the players who helped the Ducks come back with two third-period goals to tie the Oilers and move into a tie with Calgary for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Ducks scored twice in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third, getting one goal from Dollas and another from rookie center Sean Pronger.

Pronger won a faceoff to set up Dollas’ goal off a point shot at 14:28 of the third, then scored the tying goal with 2:44 left in regulation when he forced the puck through a crowd in front of the net off a pass from Joe Sacco from behind the goal line.

Edmonton goalie Curtis Joseph stopped two shots in overtime--foiling Paul Kariya on a partial breakaway and handling a long shot by Dollas toward the end--and Guy Hebert stopped six.

Daigneault’s suspension for slashing referee Don Koharski Sunday against Vancouver was announced Wednesday morning, and it was a setback for the Ducks.

“Major,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “He only played two games. He played well and was doing a great job for us. We’ve got to look at it like a player being injured. We’ve got to look for someone else to step up.”

No one seemed to early. Instead of coming out with discipline and resolve, more than a couple of the Ducks responded with short tempers and bad penalties.

Edmonton’s Andrei Kovalenko started the ugliness when he checked Steve Rucchin into the boards from behind in the first, earning a game misconduct.

Darren Van Impe, one of three rookie defensemen in the lineup for the Ducks, scored the first goal of the game on the long power play, but it proved to be the Ducks’ last until Dollas scored.

Even the normally easygoing Hebert received a slashing minor, pounding Kelly Buchberger in the back with his stick after Buchberger was pushed into Hebert in the crease by Van Impe during the second period.

Two of the Oilers’ goals came on power plays after penalties against rookie defenseman Ruslan Salei, the second one a cross-check against Buchberger along the boards.

The Ducks might not have made any friends among officials with the Daigneault incident, either.

The Oilers’ first goal stood even though it was reviewed after going into the net off the skate of Mats Lindgren, who turned his foot and angled the shot in after fanning on a pass from Buchberger.

Mike Grier scored the Oilers’ second goal on a power-play shot from the slot. Then Mariusz Czerkawski made the score 3-1 with a crowd in the crease, but referee Terry Gregson apparently felt Mironov pushed Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth in as they collided and there was no review.

The Ducks thought they had found the help they needed when they acquired Daigneault. Now they’re back on their own.