Ducks Enjoy Their Position

Marty McInnis made Pierre Gauthier look like a genius and Bob Murray a doofus in the Mighty Ducks’ 1-0 victory Friday over the Washington Capitals at the Arrowhead Pond.

Gauthier, Duck president/general manager, bamboozled Murray, general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, in an October trade that looked like nothing special at first glance.

It has turned into the steal of the season.

First, Calgary sent McInnis to Chicago as part of a multiplayer deal Oct. 27. Chicago then sent McInnis to Anaheim without so much as a second thought, and all Murray got in return was a fourth-round pick in the 2000 draft.

And who knows who that might be?

The Ducks know they have something special in McInnis, whose goal Friday was his third in as many games, his eighth since joining the team and ninth this season.

The Ducks are 2-0-1 during his goal-scoring streak and, of his eight goals for Anaheim, four have been game-winners.

“We expect Paul [Kariya], Teemu [Selanne] and [Steve] Rucchin to score,” said goaltender Guy Hebert, who recorded his third shutout this season.

“They expect to score. The other team expects them to score. It opens up things for a guy like Marty McInnis. I’m sure other teams aren’t focusing their attention on him.”

Maybe they should start.

“He was more of checking-line player before he came here,” Kariya said. “It’s hard to see a player’s skill when he’s grinding and checking. But he’s got good hands around the net.”

Washington defenseman Mark Tinordi took a holding penalty against Kariya only 3:25 into the game. Selanne, Kariya and McInnis made the Capitals pay.

Selanne kept possession of the puck along the left-wing boards, triggering the play. Kariya accepted a pass from Selanne at the blue line, darted into the high slot and delivered a back-hander Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig handled easily.

But Kolzig left the rebound waiting for McInnis, and the Duck left wing slipped the puck into the net for the only goal at 3:46.

“Marty McInnis was a huge pickup for us,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “He gets a lot of goals and they always seem to come at the right time.”

McInnis’ goal injected life into the Ducks, who had squandered three two-goal leads in a 4-4 tie Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks. It also deflated the Capitals, losers of eight of 10.

“Every goal has almost double the impact,” Kolzig said. “I’ve got to keep the puck out of the net, no matter the cost. I let one goal in, so I can improve.”

Said Washington Coach Ron Wilson: “I don’t think we were bad in the first five minutes. They scored a power-play goal and after that they might have had five chances all night, and we just couldn’t finish.”

These have been rocky times for Wilson and the injury-riddled Capitals. Adam Oates, Michal Pivonka and Chris Simon were among six forwards who did not play against the Ducks because of injuries.

Wilson, who coached the Ducks for their first four NHL seasons, has tried all sorts of ways to wring the most out of his team. He called off practice and took them bowling one day last week.

Thursday, he had them skating laps for more than 20 minutes during practice because, as he put it to the Washington Post, “We might as well do what we do best--skate around and feel sorry for ourselves.”

Wilson then left the players to conduct practice themselves. Captain Dale Hunter and defenseman Joe Reekie put the Capitals through their paces.

“Every day I’m harping on the same things and then we go into the game and don’t get it done,” Wilson said. “I wanted to let them see from their perspective what it was like and have them do what they thought they needed to get done.”

Brian Bellows, a former Duck, had Washington’s best chance to score the equalizer midway through the second period Friday. But Hebert kicked away his wraparound attempt at the left post to preserve the Ducks’ lead.

By game’s end, Hebert stopped all 31 shots he faced and improved his record to 10-8-6. Kolzig stopped all but one of the 24 shots he faced, dropping to 6-12-1.

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BLAKE RETURNS: Rob Blake, out six weeks with a broken foot, is expected to play tonight for Kings. Page 9