Ducks Finally Feeling Better

There were plenty of mistakes, to be sure. They were outshot again. Their special teams could have played better. And the defense corps was no bargain either.

So, why was this team smiling Monday night?

Somehow the Mighty Ducks’ shortcomings didn’t appear so bad in a relatively easy-appearing, 5-1 victory over the sad-sack Calgary Flames in front of 16,975 at the Pond.

The Ducks ended a three-game losing streak by tightening up their defense, driving hard to the front of the Flames’ net and playing emotionally.

There were contributions from the usual sources and some from unexpected ones too, which didn’t hurt as the Ducks won for only the fifth time this season at the Pond.

Teemu Selanne scored two goals to increase his NHL-leading total to 30. Paul Kariya had an assist for his ninth point since signing a two-year, $14 million contract Dec. 11.

As usual, Selanne and Kariya were the best players on the ice for the Ducks. But for a change, others chipped in with strong games.

In many ways, the Ducks hardly resembled the same bumbling crew that lost, 4-2, Sunday to the San Jose Sharks. Or 6-2 Friday to the Phoenix Coyotes. Or 6-2 Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I hope everybody woke up and thought about the future and about the security of our jobs,” said Selanne, who had his second consecutive two-goal game, ninth this season and 50th of his career. “When we play like this nobody can beat us, but we need everybody working hard.”

Backup goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov stopped 33 of 34 shots and won for the first time since defeating the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2, Nov. 8. Defenseman Dmitri Mironov scored his first goal since Nov. 2, ending a 20-game drought.

Forward Kevin Todd and rookie right wing Jeff Nielsen also scored for the Ducks, who are 5-13-2 in the last 20 games.

“Funny, this was our fourth game in six nights and it was our best,” Coach Pierre Page said. “Sometimes there’s no rationale to this game. It’s so much emotion.”

Except for a few moments in the first and second periods, the Ducks controlled Monday’s game.

Their five-goal total was their highest since defeating Washington, 6-4, in Kariya’s return Dec. 12. It also was their best defensive game since defeating the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1, Nov. 28 at Edmonton.

“It was exciting for the fans,” Page said. “They saw guys go right through the wall. You can work hard, but if you don’t play physical it’s tough to win. We have to play this way to win.”

The Ducks hit everyone in a Flames’ uniform right from the start, which wasn’t so great in the game’s first two minutes since it cost Bobby Dollas a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind.

Against a better opponent the Ducks (13-18-6) might have paid a steep price. But the last-place Flames (10-21-7) couldn’t score on the five-minute power play.

Calgary outshot the Ducks, 13-4, in the first period and, 34-24, for the game. But the Flames never led. The Ducks needed a hefty dose of luck to take a 1-0 lead on Selanne’s first goal of the game.

Skating behind the Calgary net, Selanne tried to flip a centering pass into the slot. But the puck struck the skate of a Calgary player and ricocheted past surprised goaltender Rick Tabaracci 8:23 into the game.

The Ducks then killed off three other short-handed situations in the first period and led for the first time after 20 minutes since the last time they played the Flames on Nov. 29 at Calgary.

The Ducks had trailed or been tied after the first period of eight consecutive games, which might have partly explained why they were 1-6-1 in that span.

“We were fortunate to get out of the first period with a 1-0 lead,” center Mark Janssens said. “We escaped the first period, so to speak.”

After Calgary’s Cory Stillman scored 23 seconds into the second period, the Ducks seized control of the game.

Todd scored on a power-play goal for his 200th NHL point and a 2-1 Duck lead at 11:35 of the second period. Selanne scored his second goal less than two minutes later. Nielsen then gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead at 15:13.