Ducks Dominating in 7-2 Victory

One goal is about all most teams can expect to score against Buffalo Sabre goaltender Dominik Hasek. Two goals are better than average against the NHL’s most valuable player the last two seasons.

Three goals generally are a surprise.

So, what about seven?

Happy New Year!

That was the Mighty Ducks’ attitude after torching Hasek and the slow-moving Sabres, 7-2, before a silent sellout crowd of 18,595 Friday at Marine Midland Arena.

It’s a feat not likely to be repeated when the teams play again Wednesday at the Arrowhead Pond.

“I thought it was going to be a really tough game, knowing Dominik Hasek isn’t going to let very many easy ones in the net,” defenseman Fredrik Olausson said after tying his career high with four assists.

After all, Hasek had a league-leading 19 victories going into the game. His goals-against average of 1.76 was the league’s best, and so was his .943 save percentage.

Led by their top line of Teemu Selanne, Steve Rucchin and Paul Kariya, the Ducks went out and shot puck after puck by Hasek, denting his invincible mystique in stunning fashion.

It matched the most goals scored against Hasek, who also gave up seven in a Dec. 4, 1996 game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Selanne had his first three-goal game of the season and the 15th of his career. In addition to his team-leading 15th, 16th and 17th goals, Selanne had two assists to tie his career best of five points in a game.

Rucchin scored two goals and added two assists to set a career high with four points.

Kariya had three assists, moving past Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros for the league lead with 46 points (14 goals, league-leading 32 assists).

“Any time you score seven goals against anybody in this league, it’s usually a fluke or something because it just doesn’t happen,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said.

Until Friday, it hadn’t happened for the Ducks this season. The most goals they had scored was six against a rookie goalie playing for a rookie team.

To be sure, Hasek is not Tomas Vokoun and the Sabres are not the expansion Nashville Predators.

Just the same, the five-goal margin Friday was identical to the Ducks’ 6-1 rout of Nashville on Dec. 16.

“We haven’t had too many games in the last few where, with 10 minutes to go, you’re not biting your nails,” Hartsburg said.

Funny thing too. It could have been worse for Hasek.

He robbed Kariya twice on breakaways and made a terrific glove save against the Duck captain. He also denied Matt Cullen, who was cutting dangerously into the slot.

“They scored a lot, but they also missed a lot of chances,” Hartsburg said of the Ducks’ top line. “That probably was the most chances they’ve had all year.”

Buffalo took a 1-0 lead and the score was tied, 2-2, 13:42 into the game. Then Rucchin scored the second of his two goals at 14:50 and Selanne had the first of his three goals at 18:54, and the rout was on.

By the third period, the Ducks had Hasek so frustrated he mugged Kariya, who was circling the net looking for a rebound, and picked up a holding-the-stick penalty.

“I thought we played great in Toronto the other night,” Kariya said of his line’s performance in a 4-1 loss Wednesday to the Maple Leafs. “We had tons of chances. Sometimes, you look too closely at the numbers [of goals] instead of the chances.”

The difference between Friday and Wednesday was that the Ducks converted those chances into easy goals against Hasek. In fact, all three of Selanne’s goals were shot into an empty net after Hasek had been faked out of position.

The Ducks didn’t have time to savor their victory. Not long after the game, they hustled aboard a plane to Boston, where they play the Bruins today.

“It’s one game,” Hartsburg said of Friday’s wipeout. “It’s over with.”