Ducks Can Smile After Beating Lightning

Don’t laugh. The joke is over on Florida’s west coast. The Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL’s doormat the last few seasons, is no longer a pushover.

The Mighty Ducks learned this lesson in a 3-2 victory Friday against the rejuvenated Lightning before a crowd of 11,616 at the Ice Palace.

It took a go-ahead goal in the third period from a third-line winger and a save by the backup goaltender on a penalty shot for the Ducks to subdue the Lightning.

Left wing Mike Leclerc supplied the winning goal for the Ducks only 1:40 into the final period, his first NHL goal since March 28, 1997. Goalie Dominic Roussel then squeezed his pads and snuffed out Stan Drulia’s penalty shot at the 6:26 mark.

Of course, none of that would have meant much had left wing Paul Kariya not whistled a quick shot past Tampa Bay goaltender Daren Puppa for the tying goal with 1:11 left in the second period.

“A huge goal by Paul,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We were playing well, but we didn’t seem to get rewarded for anything. We took the game away from them in the third period, rather than waiting to see what the other team was going to do.”

That was the scenario in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The teams were tied, 2-2, going into the third, but New Jersey defenseman Lyle Odelein scored the go-ahead goal midway through the final period.

Friday, it seemed the Ducks would be in big trouble right from the start. They gave up the first of Stephane Richer’s two goals only 1:01 into the game.

The Lightning, winner of only 19 games last season, played with a confidence not seen here since the franchise’s lone Stanley Cup playoff appearance in 1996.

“The start we had wasn’t very good,” Hartsburg said. “Give Tampa Bay credit. I knew they were going to come out fast and hard and with a lot of jump.”

Instead of crumbling, the Ducks rallied.

Winger Ted Donato’s first goal as a Duck tied the score, 1-1, at 12:44 of the first period. Richer gave the Lightning the lead, 2-1, at 3:40 of the second. Kariya countered with his second in as many games at 18:49, setting the stage for a frantic third period.

“Lucky,” Leclerc said of his goal.

He might have been correct about how he got the puck, but once it came to him, he knew what to do with it. Defenseman Jason Marshall set it up by sending a harmless-looking pass along the boards.

The puck deflected off a Lightning player’s skate to Leclerc alone in the slot. Leclerc then sent a one-timer past Puppa for the Ducks’ first lead.

“Our line was buzzing around pretty good and had some good pressure,” Leclerc said. “The puck hit a skate and came to the slot. I just threw it on net and the red light came on.”

There was no further scoring. Roussel, in his first start this season, made certain to protect the lead. He couldn’t say for certain when he last faced a penalty shot, but he looked sharp against Drulia.

Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky was penalized for hooking Drulia on a breakaway at 6:26. Predictably, Tverdovsky didn’t think a penalty shot should have been awarded.

“The guy just fell down,” he said. “I lifted his stick, he couldn’t get a shot off and he fell down. It was a bad call.”

With the crowd on its feet cheering, Drulia charged toward the net and tried to fire the puck between Roussel’s legs.

“I didn’t give him much to shoot at,” said Roussel, whose first victory last season didn’t come until Dec. 22, a 1-0 win against Colorado. “I knew he had pretty good hands, so I backed into the net at the last minute [expecting a fake]. But he had it ready for the shot all the way.”

Guy Hebert will be back in goal tonight against the Florida Panthers, provided the Ducks can travel safely to Sunrise, Fla. Hurricane Irene pummeled South Florida on Friday, flooding roads and closing airports.

“Wind and rain don’t bother Ducks,” Hartsburg cracked. “That’s good weather for a Duck.”