Hrkac Keeps Top Line Centered

Tony Hrkac got an earful when he got back to the Mighty Duck bench with seconds remaining in Sunday’s game.

Hrkac, a veteran center, had just wrapped up the Ducks’ 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning with an empty-net goal. Teammate Marty McInnis jawed at him, smiling, for the final 21 seconds.

“I was telling him that he has to get me the puck in that situation,” McInnis said.

Said Hrkac: “Any time you get an empty-netter, everyone wants to remind you how open they were.”

Hrkac, though, deserved the gimme. It was a sweet reward for a solid night’s work filling in for center Steve Rucchin, who missed a third game because of dizziness.

The Ducks didn’t seem to miss him. Hrkac took Rucchin’s spot between Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya. He set up Oleg Tverdovsky with a pass from behind the net for a power-play goal that tied the score, 1-1, in the second period. He then swiped the puck from Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier at the blue line and slid it into the net to clinch the victory.

Hrkac has spent much of the season bumping and grinding as the fourth-line center. He played between the human bruise, Dan Bylsma, who tosses his body in front of pucks while killing penalties, and the human bruiser, Jim Cummins, the Ducks’ enforcer.

“Tony can adapt his game,” Duck Coach Guy Charron said. “He’s a veteran player who is smart. He can play on the fourth line or he can skate with Paul and Teemu. I think if you ask any player, they would rather skate with Paul and Teemu.”

Hrkac, 34, smiled when asked if there was a difference.

“With Jim and Dan, we do a lot more dumping the puck in deep,” Hrkac said. “With Paul and Teemu, we rush a little more.”

That concept is hardly foreign to Hrkac, who centered Dallas’ top line in 1998-99, when the Stars won the Stanley Cup. He had 13 goals and 27 points that season, then signed with the New York Islanders. He came to the Ducks in exchange for Ted Drury last October.

“I’ve been here over a year now and I’ve learned how guys move,” Hrkac said.

That was evident on the power play in the second period. Hrkac, working behind the net, passed to Kariya on the wing, then took a pass back. The Lightning defense was sucked to the right. Hrkac waited for Tverdovsky to slip in from the left. Tverdovsky easily chipped the puck passed goaltender Dan Cloutier.

The assist was Hrkac’s fifth in the last three games. He had four in his previous 30 games.

“We talked about doing that before the game,” Tverdovsky said. “It pulled the penalty killers to one side and gave Tony two options, Teemu in the slot and me crashing the net. He made a great pass.”

Of course, later, with an open net calling, there was only one option . . . shoot. He then heard about it from McInnis.

Said a smiling Hrkac: “He was being so selfish.”