Ducks Rising to New Heights

The Mighty Ducks sent Hockeytown an unmistakable message Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond:

Gotcha.

The Ducks played it cool after a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. They said all the right things and didn’t get carried away about their franchise-record seventh consecutive victory and 13th in the last 16 games.

“It’s one out of 82 games,” captain Paul Kariya said.

But remember this about the Ducks’ first victory over the Red Wings in almost two years: They showed they can play against the best and win.

A mere point separates the Ducks and Detroit in the Western Conference standings.

“We were talking before the game that this was going to be a great test for us,” said right wing Teemu Selanne, whose assist on Marty McInnis’ first-period goal extended his point streak to a franchise-record 16 games.

“I think we passed the test. Everybody did their job. We have to try to get all the confidence we can from this game. This was more like a playoff game. We proved we’re ready to play in the playoffs now.”

The Ducks must still navigate their way through the regular season’s final 18 games, but it appears they have joined the ranks of the NHL’s elite.

It’s a lofty perch, but one the Ducks proved they deserve after subduing the Red Wings before a sellout crowd of 17,174.

“I think it’s significant in the fact that we challenged ourselves to play better than we did in the last two games,” goalie Guy Hebert said, referring to lackluster victories last week over the Nashville Predators and the Kings.

“The Red Wings are a really great hockey team and you can’t play anything less than your best and expect to survive.”

The Ducks didn’t just survive Sunday, they thrived.

McInnis scored a power-play goal at 7:50 of the first period, Steve Rucchin added a power-play goal at 12:08 of the second and Tomas Sandstrom scored while the teams were skating four on four at 17:19 of the third.

Hebert stopped all but Steve Yzerman’s power-play goal at 4:28 of the third, making 33 saves and extending his personal winning streak to five games with a 1.00 goals-against average.

In fact, the Ducks have outscored opponents, 22-8, during their streak.

The Ducks (30-25-9) also are five games over the .500 mark for the first time in the franchise’s six-season history and closing in on their second playoff berth in three seasons.

It’s heady stuff, to be sure. But the Ducks tried to downplay the significance of their winning streak and their victory over the Red Wings, who lead the all-time series, 14-4-5.

“We don’t want to be too satisfied at this level,” Selanne said. “We want to get better and better. We know if we push ourselves more we can reach a different level.”

Said Kariya: “I look at what we’ve done and say, ‘It’s over,’ I think we’re starting to learn that it’s consistency that wins hockey games. Sooner or later, we’re going to lose a game. But you want the other team to beat you.”

The Ducks faltered at times in defeating Nashville, 3-2, Friday and the Kings, 2-1, last Wednesday.

But they took an early lead Sunday, didn’t let up on the pressure and relied on their all-important special-team play to win.

“Huge,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said of his penalty-killers. “We gave up that one, but otherwise I thought they were outstanding. Guy played a big part of that.”

Rucchin’s shorthanded goal, in his first game back after missing three because of a broken nose and a sinus infection, certainly didn’t hurt.

Kariya made the play click, stealing a weak clearing pass from Detroit goalie Chris Osgood and sending a backhander into the slot to Rucchin, who didn’t miss with a one-timer.

“His speed and hustle caught everyone by surprise,” Hartsburg said of Kariya. “He can pass just as good with his backhander as some players can with their forehand. You certainly don’t teach that. The Kariyas, the Gretzkys, the Yzermans--they make those kinds of plays.”