Ducks Put a Hurting on Sharks

Don’t let all that teal fool you. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the cartoonish crests on the jerseys of the Mighty Ducks and San Jose Sharks.

The blood flowing Friday night at the Arrowhead Pond was red and it was real, every bit as real as the bad feelings that threatened to boil over into fisticuffs between the Pacific Division rivals.

In the end, the Ducks fought--in every sense of the word--their way to a 3-1 victory over the Sharks before a sellout crowd of 17,174.

The Ducks also dodged as many high sticks, slashes, spears, punches and insults as they delivered to the Sharks. This was not a game for the timid or faint of heart.

Even referee Dan Marouelli got caught in the physical play, requiring an undisclosed number of stitches to mend a wound over his left eyebrow after he was accidentally struck by a high stick.

It was a night in which the NHL’s experiment with two referees in selected games would have come in handy.

Linesman Wayne Bonney filled in as referee for six minutes or so while Marouelli was tended to by trainers.

Duck center Steve Rucchin took a blow to the head from San Jose troublemaker Bryan Marchment 2:17 into the game. Rucchin scored the game’s first goal, a power-play goal at 11:35, but didn’t play after taking a few shifts in the second period.

Coach Craig Hartsburg said Rucchin left the game because he was feeling the effects of the flu.

Teemu Selanne, Marchment’s original target when Rucchin was injured, played in spectacular fashion, assisting on Rucchin’s goal to extend his point streak to a league-leading 12 games.

Selanne also scored the Ducks’ second goal, while they were on a power play at 10:21 of the second period.

And he set up Travis Green’s goal that gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead at 15:40 of the second. Selanne pounced on a loose puck and fought off San Jose defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson on the right wing.

Next, Selanne whipped a cross-ice pass to a speeding Green, who whistled a one-timer into the top right corner of the net for his 11th goal.

Green’s nose was bloodied after an awkward first-period check from behind by San Jose’s Shawn Heins.

The Sharks did not leave Anaheim unscathed.

San Jose’s Murray Craven re-injured his right knee trying to make his way out of a scrum along the boards midway through the second period and did not return.

Craven was sidelined for 20 games earlier this season because of nerve damage in his knee.

Remarkably, there wasn’t a fight.

But round two is tonight in San Jose, so stay tuned.

A Duck victory will give them one more victory than they had while finishing 26-43-13 and missing the Stanley Cup playoffs last season.

Friday’s victory over the Sharks also kept the Ducks three points ahead of the St. Louis Blues in the battle for fifth place in the Western Conference. And it moved them within nine points of the fourth-place Phoenix Coyotes.

“We’re looking at Phoenix because they’re struggling,” said Pierre Gauthier, the Ducks’ president and general manager. “If we can get under 10 points with 20 games to go, I think we have a chance to catch them. You don’t always look behind you. You can look ahead.”