Ducks Look Like a New Team in a 7-1 Victory at Pittsburgh

The Mighty Ducks were equal parts lucky and good Saturday against the mighty lifeless Pittsburgh Penguins.

No question, the Ducks were due for a game like their 7-1 rout of the Penguins before a sellout crowd of 17,124 at Mellon Arena. They played a strong skating game and capitalized on shoddy Pittsburgh goaltending that resulted in some rather fortunate goals.

But the Ducks created their luck by playing with a passion that has often been absent during a month-long slump that dropped them to 10th place in the Western Conference.

The Ducks were aggressive, not passive Saturday. They threw checks, rather than receiving them. They took a lead and increased their offensive pressure, instead of retreating into a defensive shell.

All things considered, the Ducks’ first victory at Pittsburgh in their seven-season history was the perfect way to start a four-game East Coast trip.

The Ducks left nothing to chance against the struggling Penguins, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. The Ducks clicked twice on their power play, silenced the Penguins on theirs and muzzled league-leading scorer Jaromir Jagr.

“We all knew we blew one the other night against New York,” captain Paul Kariya said, referring to the Ducks’ 4-2 loss Wednesday against the lowly Islanders.

Instead of moping about Wednesday’s loss, the Ducks took the ice Saturday with a mission.

“We all know our predicament,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We’ve got to be ready to play every night.”

Sounds simple enough, but the Ducks have been guilty this season of starting games with their hearts and minds seemingly elsewhere. That was not the case Saturday, however.

A Duck victory was never in doubt after Teemu Selanne split two Penguins at the blue line, raced ahead on a breakaway and scored 3:19 into the game.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Pittsburgh’s rookie goaltender, deflected Selanne’s shot with his glove, but the puck tricked into the net.

It wouldn’t be the last time the Ducks would score on a shot Aubin mishandled. Aubin flubbed two other goals, prompting Pittsburgh Coach Herb Brooks to say after the game, “Maybe it’s one night he would like to have over again. [But] how can you single out one guy on a night like this?”

Antti Aalto’s power-play goal, on a quick turn-and-shoot from the left faceoff circle, gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead at 12:12. Martin Straka countered for Pittsburgh at 13:23.

But the first of Kariya’s two goals put the Ducks in command again 40 seconds later. Kariya also scored on a wicked third-period backhander for his team-leading 28th goal.

Certainly, there have been no doubts about the play of Kariya and Selanne in the last few weeks. Kariya has seven goals during a career-best five-game goal-scoring streak. Selanne has a goal in each of his last four games.

Kariya added one assist and Selanne two Saturday. There were many other contributors to the Ducks’ romp, including Matt Cullen, Steve Rucchin and Tony Hrkac, who also scored. Oleg Tverdovsky had two assists. Goalie Guy Hebert made 23 saves.

Pittsburgh’s goaltending was abysmal. Peter Skudra replaced Aubin after Rucchin’s goal squirted through Aubin’s glove to give the Ducks a 5-1 lead at 14:18 of the second period.

The Ducks, who are 4-11-2 since Dec. 19, couldn’t have cared less about Pittsburgh’s misfortunes. The Ducks simply increased their intensity.

Defenseman Kevin Haller goaded Jagr, Matthew Barnaby and Dennis Bonvie into taking needless penalties late in the second period. Jagr was playing his second game after missing four because of a strained stomach muscle and didn’t appear to be skating at top speed.