Ducks’ Karpa Gets Things Stirred Up

He’s the sort of player other teams love to hate. Sometimes he gets under his own teammates’ skin too.

David Karpa of the Mighty Ducks is a pest, and makes no apologies for it. He’s a defenseman by trade, but his real job is annoying people.

He jabs opponents in the ribs, trying to goad them into a stupid penalty. He needles the opposition, hoping to throw them off their game. He defends his teammates, fighting so they won’t have to.

He’s the guy who turns the stereo up when a teammate asks him to turn it down.

It’s not a pretty job, but his is a valued role. Few good teams go without someone like Karpa. The New York Rangers have Esa Tikkanen. Colorado has Claude Lemieux. Detroit has Vladimir Konstantinov.

The Ducks have Karpa, who certainly was in his element Wednesday against the Kings at the Pond.

The Ducks have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but fourth place in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage for the opening round remains undecided.

A victory over the Kings would keep the Ducks in prime position for fourth, but they came out flat after a four-day layoff. The Ducks weren’t counting on Karpa to wrestle them from their early-game doldrums, but he did it.

Karpa saved a goal, scored the game-winner and got into a fight--a strong performance that helped the Ducks to a 4-1 victory over the Kings.

“It was kind of a good game because Paul [Kariya] and Teemu [Selanne] weren’t clicking, so it was important for some of the other guys to come through,” said Karpa, whose goal was only his second of the season.

“The third and fourth lines really pitched in and we’re going to need that in the playoffs.”

They needed it Wednesday too.

With the Ducks leading 1-0, but fumbling to maintain any sort of momentum late in the second period, Karpa bailed out goaltender Guy Hebert with perhaps the save of the night.

With Hebert beaten, Karpa denied Dimitri Khristich the game-tying goal by sweeping away the puck when it appeared destined for the back of the net.

Karpa might never have been in position to make the save, but he dived in an attempt to break up a pass from Jason Morgan to Khristich on a two-on-one break.

“I guess it was fortunate I was on the ice,” Karpa said. “I just saw it rolling across the ice toward the net.”

Karpa’s next big play was producing the go-ahead goal 3:12 into the third period, a blast through traffic from the right point.

Rare? You could say that. Karpa’s goal was only the sixth in his 166-game Duck career.

“I’m not here to score goals and stuff,” Karpa said. “I just want to help keep the puck out of my own net.”

Less than a minute later, Brian Bellows scored to give the Ducks a more comfortable, 3-1, lead. Karpa then turned his attention to his more usual roles.

Fighting with Steve McKenna, the tallest player in NHL history at 6 feet 8, suited Karpa fine. Sort of.

“He’s huge,” Karpa said, cracking a wry smile. “I tried getting in tight on him. It was a lost cause. He was too big.”