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Tverdovsky Smooths the Rough Spots

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Mighty Ducks rallied for a 6-5 overtime victory Wednesday over the troublesome Calgary Flames before an announced crowd of 12,956 at the Arrowhead Pond.

So much for the bookkeeping.

There were enough unusual twists and turns Wednesday to satisfy Picasso.

With the possible exception of defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky’s overtime dash through the Calgary defense to score the game-winner, however, this was no masterpiece.

The Ducks were awful and awesome at times, falling apart defensively and getting a lackluster performance from goaltender Guy Hebert. But they found something extra in the dying minutes of the third period and in overtime to pull out their second consecutive victory.

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“A huge win,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said after the ninth-place Ducks moved within four points of the eighth-place Colorado Avalanche in the battle for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.

“I’ve never seen a goal like that,” Hartsburg said of Tverdovsky’s game-winner 1:40 into the five-minute overtime period. “Paul [Kariya] started it and made about eight moves and Oleg . . . it was just incredible.”

With the teams skating four-on-four, Kariya made several moves to free himself from Calgary defenders. He spotted Tverdovsky as they moved into the attacking zone, slipping him the puck.

Tverdovsky, a left-handed shooter, accepted the pass on his forehand and pulled the puck to his backhand, losing Calgary defenseman Darryl Shannon in the process.

A quick return to his forehand faked out goalie Fred Brathwaite and Tverdovsky tucked the puck into a now-empty net, easy as you please.

“I don’t remember what I did,” Tverdovsky said, laughing. “It was probably the best goal I ever scored. I scored some like that in junior, but not in the NHL.”

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Tverdovsky’s eighth goal of the season overshadowed all sorts of significant Duck developments Wednesday, including Teemu Selanne’s 700th and 701st NHL points.

“It’s not that big a deal,” said Selanne, who has a 12-game point streak. “It’s always nice to reach a milestone, but the important thing is we won the game.”

It wouldn’t have happened without his linemates, who were at the top of their games.

Kariya had his first five-point game of the season, scoring one goal and assisting on four others. Steve Rucchin had two goals, including a power-play goal that extended the Ducks’ streak with at least one goal with the man advantage to nine games.

“Those guys [Kariya and Selanne] are two of the best in the world,” said Calgary’s Jason Wiemer, who scored twice in the third period to give the Flames a 5-4 lead. “We didn’t do nearly enough to stop them. They were just playing ‘pond’ hockey and you know how good they are at that.”

Still, the Ducks trailed the Flames until defenseman Fredrik Olausson’s power-play goal with six minutes left in the third period got them even, 5-5.

Hebert fought the puck from start to finish, giving up five goals for the second consecutive game. Dominic Roussel played in Monday’s 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

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“There were some funny goals [against Hebert] tonight,” Hartsburg said.

In the first period, Clarke Wilm thrust his stick in the air after shooting a point-blank try off Hebert’s mask.

Apparently, Wilm believed he had scored. Everyone else on the ice stopped in their tracks. Wilm then spied the puck lying in the crease and swatted it into the net at 8:26 of the first period.

Calgary’s second goal came while the Flames were on a power play early in the second period. Hebert mishandled Robyn Regehr’s shot from near the blue line, the puck bouncing in and out of his goalie glove at 5:04.

Next, Hebert failed to cover a loose puck in front of him and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla alertly tapped it into the net to even the score, 3-3, at 17:02.

The hard-working Flames probably deserved better than what happened moments later, but taking penalties near the end of periods often comes back to haunt the offenders.

First, Wiemer, then Wilm went to the penalty box in the period’s closing minutes. Calgary successfully killed off a high sticking penalty, but Wilm was penalized for holding a Duck’s stick with 41 seconds left in the period.

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Rucchin scored the second of his two goals with 29 seconds left in the second period, which gave the Ducks a 4-3 lead entering the third. Rucchin, clogging up the front of Brathwaite’s net, redirected Olausson’s shot from near the blue line.

In the third period, Wiemer scored at the 33-second mark and at 9:28 to rally the Flames to a 5-4 lead. His second goal came while Duck defenseman Pavel Trnka was serving an interference penalty.

Hebert failed to handle a shot from the perimeter and Wiemer jabbed the rebound into the net.

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