Slowly but Surely, the Ducks Prevail

The Mighty Ducks received a big fat zero for style points Wednesday night.

They were out of sync, out of luck and running out of time against Edmonton Oiler goaltender Steve Passmore, who was making his NHL debut look routine.

But, seemingly out of nowhere, the Ducks crafted two goals from two third-period scoring chances and left Skyreach Centre with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over the Oilers.

Teemu Selanne scored the first goal at 11:12 of the final period, extending his NHL-leading point streak to 11 games.

Edmonton’s Rem Murray countered at 12:56.

Paul Kariya then scored the game-winner two minutes later, enabling the Ducks to win two of three on their three-game trip to western Canada.

“The party is over,” Selanne said at game’s end.

Indeed. Every game down the stretch figures to be a bare-knuckles brawl for the Ducks, who hold a three-point lead over the St. Louis Blues for fifth place in the Western Conference.

Luckily for the Ducks, Wednesday was their fifth and final game against the energetic Oilers.

Few teams have bottled up the Ducks, and Kariya and Selanne in particular, as effectively as the Oilers did in winning three of five against them this season. The Dean McAmmond-Todd Marchant-Mike Grier line did another number on the Ducks for about 48 minutes Wednesday.

“They are one of the better defensive lines in the league,” said center Steve Rucchin, who was reunited on the top line with Kariya and Selanne in the third period after spending most of this month on the second line.

“McAmmond, Marchant, Grier--those three guys have great speed and they’re also very physical against us. Fortunately, we squeezed a few goals by them at the end.”

First Selanne, who whistled a one-timer by Passmore, then Kariya, who accepted a drop pass from Rucchin then used him as a screen to score, got loose.

Dominic Roussel, giving No. 1 goalie Guy Hebert a rare night off, made 32 saves in his first start since Jan. 21 and the Ducks returned to the .500 mark at 25-25-9. Their next victory ties their total for last season.

“We knew we had to stay patient,” Kariya said of waiting for the right opportunities to strike. “We didn’t get a lot of chances, but when we did, we buried them.”

Patience and perseverance were as important to the Ducks as speed and skill with the puck. Smarts were more useful than brawn, although a few well-timed hits along the boards certainly showed the Ducks came to play--unlike their 6-2 loss a week earlier to the Oilers at Anaheim.

“Dominic was the one who probably saved us,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “The second period was better than the first period and the third was our best. We were probably fortunate to get two points. It was a huge two points.”

After putting five measly shots on net in the first period, the Ducks were lucky to be locked in a scoreless tie. The Ducks seemed to be skating in place for long stretches of the first two periods.

When all else fails, there’s always Kariya and Selanne to make something out of nothing.

Sustained pressure kept the puck in the Oiler zone for an extended period, leading to Selanne’s team-leading 32nd goal of the season. Kariya pounced on a loose puck near the right-wing boards, spotted Selanne in the left faceoff circle and hit him with a pass.

Selanne didn’t miss.

“A $12-million goal,” Edmonton Coach Ron Low called it.

After Murray tied the score, Rucchin and Kariya slipped into the Oiler zone on left wing. It didn’t look like a dangerous rush, but in an instant the puck was in the back of the net.

“That’s why they are superstars,” Rucchin said. “That’s what separates Paul and Teemu from the rest of the players in the league. It takes those guys only one opportunity. Nine times out of 10, it’s in the net.

“They just make huge plays.”