Kariya, Ducks Put an End to Their Droughts

Paul Kariya didn’t dance, didn’t whoop and holler, but merely raised his stick and pumped his fist after watching the puck sail into the net at 8:19 of the third period Friday.

That was all the celebrating Kariya would do after ending a career-high 10-game goal-scoring drought in the Mighty Ducks’ 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes before 16,308 at the Arrowhead Pond.

“My job is to score goals,” Kariya said after scoring two and adding an assist in helping the Ducks end a three-game losing streak. “When I’m not doing it, there’s something lacking.”

That sounds ridiculous, especially when you consider that Kariya had 13 assists during his 10-game goal slump and had moved among the NHL scoring leaders last week.

Fact was, Kariya hadn’t scored a goal since the Ducks’ 3-0 victory Dec. 13 against the Kings, and the pressure was building.

“It’s the same thing in baseball,” Kariya said. “You can be making great contact and hitting ropes and line drives right at people. You can’t change your approach. I can’t change my game just because the puck isn’t going in.”

So, Kariya didn’t.

He paid a bit more attention to the small details, setting up teammates for scoring chances, checking opponents harder and firing away as if nothing was wrong.

Friday, it all paid off.

The good-sized strawberry on his chin was evidence of Kariya’s physical play against the Coyotes. The score sheet told the story in terms just as blunt.

Two goals and one assist helped the Ducks defeat Phoenix for the first time since Game 7 of their memorable 1996-97 Stanley Cup playoff series. Three points Friday also moved Kariya into sole possession of the league lead with 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists).

Kariya was tied with Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr with 48 points going into the game.

Rest assured, the Ducks couldn’t have won without Kariya. In the end, it seemed fitting that the Ducks’ three-game losing streak would end when Kariya’s goal slump ended.

“This was a huge win,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “[Kariya] has had so many chances and he’s played so well. He picked a good time for [ending his goal-scoring funk].”

Fredrik Olausson and Steve Rucchin had the other goals for the Ducks. Shane Doan’s first goal of the season was the only puck Phoenix could get past Dominic Roussel, making his first appearance at the Pond as a Duck.

“He’s played great every chance he’s got,” No. 1 goalie Guy Hebert said of Roussel. “I don’t feel any differently with him in there than I did with [previous backups] Mikhail [Shtalenkov] or Ron Tugnutt.”

In the end, Hebert figured he had the best seat in the house Friday, comfortably resting on the bench after five consecutive starts.

Of Kariya’s goals, Hebert said, “I think it’s a huge relief for him. I don’t know if it bothered him or not, but he’s leading the league in scoring so he must be doing something right. He’s been playing hard and more physical than usual. It was nice to see him get a bounce.”

Kariya’s first goal came almost eight minutes after Rucchin scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. Kariya accepted a pass from defenseman Ruslan Salei and chipped a shot from the right wing off Phoenix goalie Nikolai Khabibulin’s left shoulder, giving the Ducks a 3-1 lead.

Teemu Selanne set up Kariya’s second goal, giving him a pass he merely had to tap past Khabibulin on a two-on-one rush at 15:58 of the third period.

Phoenix, which lost, 7-1, at home Thursday to the Edmonton Oilers, had no response. The Coyotes sorely missed captain Keith Tkachuk, who is expected to be sidelined two weeks because of a broken rib.