Sawyer Punches Out a Goal in Duck Victory

Kevin Sawyer flung himself into the boards, not in anger for once, but in jubilation. His first NHL goal was memorable, his post-goal celebration symbolic.

After all, haven’t the Mighty Ducks spent weeks banging their heads against the wall, watching a winless streak pile up? That, like Sawyer’s goal-less existence, finally ended with a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in front of 18,200 at Madison Square Garden Sunday.

Paul Kariya and Marty McInnis scored goals. Goalie Steve Shields made one save after another in the final minutes while wading through player pileups in front of the net. They got two power-play goals in 11 tries, only the second time this season they have scored more than one in a game.

But the sight of Sawyer, the NHL leader in penalty minutes, barreling into the boards after his second-period goal was a moment worth framing for a team that had matched the franchise record with a nine-game winless streak.

“I lost control,” Sawyer said. “I just had this energy inside of me to get rid of. I was so excited.

“I never ever felt like that in my life. For all those kids out there who dream about it like I did, it’s honestly better than it was in my dreams. It was the most fun thing I have ever done.”

The least fun would probably be this trip. But at last the Ducks had something to write home about, even if they remained last in the Western Conference.

You could sum up their six-game trip before Sunday with some postcards from the ledge.

Columbus: Blew a third-period lead.

Washington: Lost to a team that had given up 16 goals in two previous games.

Tampa Bay: Squandered a 2-0 lead.

Florida: Completely collapsed in 6-0 loss.

New York Islanders: Never had a chance.

So, even though it took a lot of flopping and stopping by Shields, the Ducks at last had a positive moment to ponder while winging their way home.

“No question Columbus and Tampa were games we could have won, if we had not gotten carried away with ourselves,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “It could have been a decent road trip. It’s not, obviously. This does give us a little bit of a spark now. This was a character win.”

And Sawyer certainly qualified as one of the bigger characters. He did his usual bit in the first period, getting into two fights, running his league-high total to 15 fighting majors.

But in the second period, he burst down the slot, took a pass from Dan Bylsma and beat goalie Mike Richter for his first goal.

“You don’t know what this means for a guy like me and guys who do my job,” Sawyer said. “Every night, it’s kind of a tough job to prepare to do. This is such fresh change, it makes it all worthwhile.”

Shields made that so. The Ducks did their damage early, building a 3-0 lead. Mark Messier scored in the second period and Petr Nedved in the third to make it 3-2.

The Ducks, who were outshot, 35-15, went without a shot the final 16 minutes. The Rangers applied pressure in the final minutes, but Shields stopped everything.

Shields managed to deflect Messier’s rebound try with his stick. He stoned Zdeno Ciger on a try from the slot. Theo Fleury had two good tries crashing the net.

“I was laughing at him one time when he tried to punch the puck in after the whistle,” Shields said. “He said he had the blade of his stick in his hand, so it would have counted.”

But nothing that counted got past Shields with the Ducks clinging to a one-goal lead.

“We got down to the last minute of the game and Steve Shields was just huge in the net,” Murray said. “It was agonizing. When you’re struggling to win games, it’s a pressure time for everybody. Thank goodness we hung on.”

The Ducks were stress-free in building a 3-0 lead in the second period. They spent 13:51 of the first 40 minutes on the power play. They got a power-play goal from McInnis, snapping a one-for-41 stretch, early in the second period and another from Kariya.

Sandwiched in between was Sawyer’s moment.

“I couldn’t have enjoyed it, if we didn’t win,” Sawyer said. “It’s a huge win. Hopefully this will stop the bleeding and turn some things around. There is no reason we can’t play like this every night.”