Daigneault Goes on Defensive

J.J. Daigneault has ridden in a Stanley Cup parade in his native Montreal, and he once was able to postpone the celebration of yet another championship by the Edmonton Oilers by scoring an unlikely goal in the Stanley Cup finals when he was a Philadelphia Flyer.

He has worn a Mighty Duck uniform for only 15 games, but he already has played the role of playoff hero after his game-winning goal Friday in the third period of the Ducks’ 4-2 victory over Phoenix in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

But Daigneault, 31, has seen many postseasons, and he knows the Ducks should not get comfy with their 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that continues today in Game 3 at America West Arena in Phoenix.

“You take it one game at a time in the playoffs. Now is the time for us to put the first two games behind us,” said Daigneault, who had two goals and an assist in Game 2, making him--at least momentarily--the highest-scoring defenseman in the playoffs with five points after two games.

Daigneault played a solid role for the Montreal team that beat the Kings in the Stanley Cup finals in 1993. One thing he remembers is that the Canadiens had to rally from a 0-2 deficit to get out of the first round.

“The first series against the Nordiques in ’93 was probably our toughest series on the road to the Stanley Cup,” he said. “They won the first two games at Le Colisee and we won the next four [two in overtime]. . . . That year, if Quebec would have beaten us, they probably would have gone to the Stanley Cup and won it.”

He also remembers how Edmonton was getting ready to inscribe its roster on the Cup again in 1987, when he played for Philadelphia.

“Edmonton was leading the series, 3-2, and they were leading the game, 2-1,” he said. “Early in the third period, we tied it up, and then with about five minutes left I scored the game-winning goal.

“They had to put the champagne back on ice, put the Cup back in the box and bring it all to Edmonton.”

The Oilers won Game 7, but Daigneault had pushed them with one of the three playoff goals he had scored in 12 NHL seasons before Friday.

Daigneault has played in 83 playoff games during his NHL career, making him the third-most experienced Duck after Jari Kurri (187 games) and Brian Bellows (113). Teemu Selanne has played in only eight and Paul Kariya only two.

Selanne and Kariya are the stars the Ducks’ hopes are latched onto, but with them under fairly tight wraps Friday, Daigneault became the first of the supporting cast to come through.

“In a playoff series, you don’t expect a lot of offense to come from your defensemen,” Daigneault said. “The first thing you’ve got to do is try not to get caught pinching [in] so a three-on-two goes the other way.

“Unless we’ve got a power play, I don’t really go out and try to create offensive chances. Yesterday, I had two opportunities and I took advantage of them. Maybe in another game you won’t get any opportunities.”

In Daigneault and Dmitri Mironov--who coincidentally was Daigneault’s teammate in Pittsburgh before both were acquired in separate trades this season--the Ducks finally have a pair of major league point men for their power play.

Mironov, 31, had a goal and an assist Friday and is another candidate to bolster the Kariya-Selanne combination.

In 1994, playing for Toronto in his second season, he had six goals and 15 points in 18 playoff games. “Nothing special. Just all goals on the power play. Blasts from the point,” he said.

He and Daigneault say they must think defense first, but when Kariya and Selanne are being smothered, it’s their turn.

“When we see, like everybody sees, that they are putting pressure on Paul and Teemu, all five guys on the ice looking at Paul and Teemu . . . we’ve got three guys more on the ice, and we should be more open,” Mironov said. “If five are watching two or three people, the others will be open.

“But I’m more concentrating on defense right now. Two goals against, one or two, that helps our team win. It’s easy to win if you do that.”

Neither player--and certainly not Mironov--is known foremost for his defensive skills. But they try to work together to keep from getting burned because of their offensive tendencies.

“It really helps that we know each other from Pittsburgh,” Mironov said. “Mario [Lemieux] always wants one to cut down the middle. We had to decide who would go.

“You can’t both go to the front of the net or there might be a two-on-one the other way. We talk to each other, see who’s going to go. If I see he’s in better position to go, I stay.”

So they talk--Mironov, a Russian, in his second language, and Daigneault, a French Canadian, in his.

Not that it was always a perfect system.

“We got caught last year in Edmonton,” Mironov said, laughing. “A 3-on-0. Both of us went, the pass got deflected, and there was a 3-on-0 goal in the other net. Two-on-0, for sure. Oops.”

Mironov came to the Ducks in November and finished the season with a career-high 52 points, sixth among defensemen.

Daigneault arrived in a Feb. 21 trade. On Feb. 23, he was suspended for 10 games because of a rule that calls for an automatic 10-game penalty for “abuse of official.”

Daigneault, charged with swinging his stick at referee Don Koharski, appealed the suspension, saying he never intended to hit Koharski. The suspension stood after a cumbersome nine-page memo from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear he wouldn’t rule against an official except under extraordinary circumstances.

“I think the suspension was a big misunderstanding,” Daigneault said. “I’m not saying the NHL made a mistake. But there was a misunderstanding about what took place.”

Once the appeal was over, Daigneault let it go.

“It was time to put everything behind me and just go on,” he said.

When he returned, he immediately started a seven-game point streak--the longest by a defenseman in Duck history.

“I came back rested, and the team played well--unbelievable--in the 10 games I didn’t play,” Daigneault said. “I had three weeks to rest and work hard, and I did. It paid off late in the season.”

It paid off late in Game 2, as well.

*

* COLD WARRIOR

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* UNFRIENDLY DEN

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