A Long, Frustrating Day, but Not for Ducks

Sure it was dull, lifeless, frustrating hockey. But the Mighty Ducks loved every minute of it Sunday at Joe Louis Arena. The longer it went on, the more they seemed to thrive on it.

It took 60 minutes of regulation and 3:41 more of overtime, but the Ducks’ patient counterpunching style finally paid off in a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Steve Rucchin’s goal, after a long rebound eluded Red Wing goaltender Mike Vernon with 1:19 left in overtime, gave the Ducks a game to remember. They didn’t care if it put 19,983 fans or the Red Wings to sleep.

“Well, it just doesn’t get any better than that, does it?” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “I’ve never seen us play as good as that.”

Instead of fretting about earning the first playoff spot in the franchise’s four-year history, the Ducks now can set their sights on improving their position in the Western Conference standings.

Sunday’s victory moved them into a fourth-place tie with the Edmonton Oilers. Each team has 77 points. The Oilers have six games remaining in the regular season. The Ducks have five.

The victory also gave the Ducks a 3-3 record on their six-game, 10-day trip to Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Chicago and Detroit.

“We were being patient and at the same time setting the tempo,” Wilson said. “We had our legs tonight and I was surprised.”

All things considered, victories over Chicago and Detroit simply didn’t figure. Playing four games without injured right wing Teemu Selanne, the NHL’s second-leading scorer with 47 goals and 98 points, was one thing.

But they also were without All-Star goalie Guy Hebert for the past two.

There were subtle signs Sunday that they missed both, but it never seemed to hurt the Ducks as the scoreless tie dragged on.

The Ducks pressured the Red Wing puck-handlers at every turn, keeping them a safe distance from goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov. At the other end, they attacked Vernon when they could, always appearing to think defense first.

“Their style has been a real problem for us,” Detroit captain Steve Yzerman said after the Red Wings fell to 0-3-1 against the Ducks.

At last, the Ducks got the winning break. Paul Kariya sent a low, knuckling shot at Vernon from the red line. Rucchin pounced on the rebound and put his shot from a sharp angle into the back of the net.

“My eyes opened up pretty wide,” Rucchin said of picking up the rebound.

Said Vernon: “It skipped and got away from me on the rebound. I couldn’t go after it because [Rucchin] was right on top of it.”

It was the Ducks’ best chance to score, but not their only one. Vernon stopped Kariya from point-blank range in the first period and again in the second.

Brian Bellows couldn’t squeeze the puck past Vernon after a superb cross-ice pass through traffic from Rucchin with 4:51 left in regulation.

The Ducks survived perhaps their only bonehead play, killing off a Detroit power play with less than four minutes left. Defenseman David Karpa took a boarding penalty in retaliation for Darren McCarty’s hard check on him a moment earlier.

Other than that, the Ducks played a smart, albeit boring, game.

“I can say it was an excellent defensive game” said Shtalenkov, who earned his second shutout of the season in 22 games. “We didn’t give them lots of scoring chances. Maybe three or four chances. I’m glad I stopped those shots.

“I never thought I’d do that--win, 1-0, in Detroit. I’m going to remember this game the rest of my life.”

Although he was prominent in the outcome, Rucchin refused to rank it as one of his best games.

He struggled throughout, and Wilson moved rookie Richard Park from the checking line to the top line for much of the second period. Rucchin took his shifts with the fourth line without complaint, and he was back with Bellows and Kariya to start the third.

“I knew I was playing a poor game,” Rucchin said. “Ron’s got to do what’s best for the team. Rich’s played strong for us.

“By no means did I win this game for us. It was a strong, strong team effort.”