For Ducks, It’s Progress

For those grading on a curve, this game was progress.

OK, so the Ducks didn’t get a victory Tuesday night, losing, 3-1, to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 17,510 at the Molson Centre. They didn’t get run out of the rink either.

And that brought some smiles to the dressing room afterward.

Jan Bulis and Brian Savage scored goals, building a 2-0 lead and Yanic Perreault chipped in an empty-netter. Goalie Jeff Hackett made a handful of nice saves when they were needed. The Canadiens may not have deserved a victory, but they got one.

In the baby-steps world the Ducks reside in at the moment, this was something to feel good about, especially after being blitzed by Toronto, 6-1, on Monday.

“That was definitely positive tonight, just to respond to that terrible night in Toronto,” defenseman Keith Carney said. “We had more grit, more determination. Now we can’t take a step backward to how we played in Toronto.

“We have to move forward.”

The Ducks have to view their season-opening road trip on the small screen. As far as the big picture goes, they went 1-3 during a four-game swing through Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Montreal.

Not exactly the type of trip that will cause a rush to the ticket booth before Friday’s home opener against Washington. Still ...

“We played with more resolve, especially coming off last night,” Paul Kariya said. “We can walk out of the rink with our heads held high tonight.”

There is room for improvement, Duck players admit. They were scoreless on seven power plays. Defensive lapses still cost them goals.

And they didn’t win.

Still, they might have walked away with a victory, or at least a point, had it not been for some near misses and a few Hackett gems.

The Ducks controlled play from the start, but Hackett stopped 24 of 25 shots, including several key ones with the Canadiens clinging to a 1-0 lead in the second period. He also got a little help.

Marty McInnis just missed a tip into an open net early in the period. Moments later later Jeff Friesen hit the left post. McInnis later hit the post and then was stopped by Hackett on a blast from the slot.

Hackett also robbed Mike Leclerc on a power play. Matt Cullen tipped a shot in the air and Leclerc knocked the puck down on the left side of the net. By the time Leclerc got a stick on the puck, Hackett reacted and managed to get a skate on shot.

The Ducks finally beat Hackett with a kind deflection. Jason York’s shot from the blue line bounced off McInnis and went straight to Friesen, who was alone in front of the net. Friesen waited out a sprawling Hackett, then flicked the puck into the net.

“The big thing tonight is we had energy,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “We should have been awarded with more, at least a point. We deserved better. We created a lot of opportunities.”

The Canadiens, though, cashed in on their few chances, beating the Ducks in transition twice.

Martin Rucinsky picked up the puck in the Canadiens’ zone and whipped a pass to Richard Zednik, who burst into the Duck end on the right and lured defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky out of position.

“He thought Marty McInnis was back there,” Murray said. “Vitaly made the right play if it was a three on three.”

It wasn’t. Zednik fired a cross-ice pass to Bulis, who shot before goalie Steve Shields could react. The Ducks trailed, 1-0, five minutes into the game.

In the second period, Craig Rivet passed to Perreault at the Duck blue line. Perreault burst in, while Duck players froze for a second, and slid a pass to Savage on the left. Shields never had a chance and the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead 16:28 into the period.

Aside from little things, like scoring only two goals in two games, the Ducks walked away pleased. Shields, who questioned the preparation of a few after the Toronto game, was beaming.

Of course, he had been left hanging in previous games, seeing an average of 36 shots in the first three games. The Canadiens had only 17 shots Tuesday.

“I feel a lot better tonight than the last three games,” Shields said. “If we keep playing like this, we’re going to be a pretty good team.”