Francis Makes History as Ducks Watch Quietly

Think of the greatest scorers in NHL history and the names easily come to mind. There’s Wayne Gretzky, of course, at the head of the pack with 2,856 points. Gordie Howe is there and Marcel Dionne is too. Mark Messier leads the list of active players.

Ron Francis stands alone today in fifth place after scoring two goals in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-0 drubbing of the Mighty Ducks on Sunday before 13,013 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena.

Ron Francis?

Francis passed hall of famer Phil Esposito by scoring twice to record the 1,591st and 1,592nd points of his career.

Surrounded by reporters and TV cameras afterward, Francis thanked his parents for teaching him the value of hard work and persistence. He also poked fun at himself for being a bit of an unknown among the game’s top five.

“I’ve heard it said that it’s probably the quietest 1,500-plus points that’s ever been scored,” Francis said. “But it doesn’t matter to me what’s said.”

Certainly, Francis benefited by spending much of his career playing with Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh in the 1990s. But he has kept the Hurricanes competitive the last few seasons since signing as a free agent in the summer of 1998.

Sunday, Francis took full advantage of everything the shorthanded and dispirited Ducks had to offer, which was plenty. Playing without injured forwards Paul Kariya, Mike Leclerc and Steve Rucchin for the sixth consecutive game, the Ducks offered little resistance and were blanked for the second consecutive game. The Buffalo Sabres defeated them, 4-0, Friday in Anaheim.

The Ducks, 1-7-2-1 since Kariya broke his right foot Dec. 17, seemed content Sunday to let Francis work alone in front of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

First, defenseman Niclas Havelid got caught out of position and Carolina’s Jeff O’Neill freed Francis for a breakaway with a pass from the right wing boards. Giguere had no chance to stop the hard-charging Francis, whose ninth goal this season gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the second period.

Next, with Carolina on a power play, defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky fired a clearing pass into Francis’ skates. Francis pounced on the loose puck, took a stride to steady himself and whistled a point-blank shot by a defenseless Giguere for a 3-0 lead 2:03 into the final period.

O’Neill and Martin Gelinas also scored, Arturs Irbe made 27 saves for his fourth shutout this season and Carolina improved its unbeaten streak to 5-0-2. But Sunday belonged to Francis, the Hurricanes’ 37-year-old center.

“All I’ve ever been concerned about is doing my best,” Francis said in a voice so soft that even the reporters at the front of the pack had to lean close to hear.

Asked what he plans to do with the pucks from the assist that tied Esposito in Friday’s 2-2 tie against the Florida Panthers and the goals Sunday against the Ducks, he said, “I’m just collecting them right now. When I retire, I plan to build a nice case and put everything in there. Right now, they’re all just collecting dust.”

For the Ducks, their troubles continued as Coach Guy Charron lost another forward when tough guy Jim Cummins was suspended for drawing his third game misconduct this season in a Friday fight with Buffalo’s Denis Hamel.

The Ducks summoned Kevin Sawyer from Cincinnati of the American Hockey League. Sawyer began the game on a line with rookie Marc Chouinard and defenseman Jason Marshall, but soon enough was playing with Teemu Selanne and Matt Cullen.

“He’s a guy who plays with a lot of energy, which is why I rewarded him,” Charron said of Sawyer, who had one shot on net and a team-high four hits in nine minutes.

Sawyer saw more action after Charron benched center Tony Hrkac a few minutes into the second period.