Kariya’s Strong Start Lifts Ducks

It must have been the stick.

The Mighty Ducks’ Paul Kariya suffered through one of the worst scoring slumps of his career to start the season while playing with a new type of one-piece stick.

Then he went back to his old stick on Wednesday and broke a 10-game goal-scoring drought in a loss to San Jose.

On Friday, Kariya’s old stick did it again and this time he scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Mighty Ducks to their highest scoring output of the season in a 5-2 victory over Chicago, which ended the Blackhawks’ nine-game unbeaten streak.

“The stick that I had changed to was a lot lighter and more flexible,” said Kariya, who scored his third and fourth goals of the season in the first period to spark Anaheim in front of an announced crowd of 12,893 at the Arrowhead Pond.

“In practice and in the games, I was shooting the puck hard but I didn’t have any idea where it was going. With my old stick, I have a little bit better feel. Maybe the puck doesn’t come off quite as fast but I have more control with it. You can shoot it 100 mph into the goalie’s chest, he is still going to make the save.”

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere picked up his third win to help the Mighty Ducks improve to 5-7-1-0 overall and 3-3-1-0 at home.

For Kariya’s teammates, they knew it was only a matter of time before he began to score again.

“We know Paul is going to score a lot of points for us,” defenseman Keith Carney said earlier this week. “He hasn’t been scoring goals but he has been getting his chances.”

And he certainly did against the Blackhawks, who were playing the second of back-to-back games after rallying to defeat the Kings, 3-2, at Staples Center on Thursday.

Kariya opened the scoring when he picked up a loose puck and beat Chicago goaltender Steve Passmore 3:48 into the first period.

Passmore didn’t have a chance on Kariya’s second goal.

With Anaheim on a 5-on-3 power play, Kariya banged home a goal from deep in the left circle at the 11-minute mark to give the Mighty Ducks a 2-0 lead.

Anaheim, which has had problems scoring power-play goals, executed with a man-advantage by moving the puck the way Coach Bryan Murray has been telling them. “We have to feel comfortable moving the puck,” Murray said before the game. “We have to make the pass when the pass is available. We can’t always be jammed together.

“One of the problems we’ve had is that we make a play to a guy and he gives it right back to the guy who gave him the puck. That creates a jam on one side.”

Defenseman Jason York played a key role on the goal. York, who picked up two assists on the night, was patient with the puck and helped set up the scoring lane for Kariya.

“It does take some individual skill [playing on the power play],” Murray said. “You have to be able to catch a pass, make a pass and see the ice. When you try and do things in a hurry, sometimes you mishandle the puck.”

After Jocelyn Thibault replaced Passmore, who suffered a leg injury early in the second period, the Mighty Ducks extended their lead to 3-0 on a goal from Steve Rucchin at 11:19.

Chicago, which had not lost since Oct. 12, finally was able to get on the scoreboard late in the second period when Tony Amonte had the puck ricochet off his leg past Giguere on a two-man advantage for the Blackhawks.

With a 3-1 lead after two periods, the Mighty Ducks dominated the final 20 minutes.

Forward Dan Bylsma scored his second goal of the season 22 seconds into the third period on a play set up by a great assist from Matt Cullen to give Anaheim a 4-1 lead.

The Mighty Ducks opened up their biggest lead of the season nearly four minutes later when center Samuel Pahlsson scored from the blue line for his second goal of the season.

Chicago finished the scoring on a goal by center Kyle Calder with 9:17 remaining but the Blackhawks were unable to get any closer.