Ducks Keep a Good Thought

Expressions of success varied widely for the Mighty Ducks on Wednesday.

There was frivolity, as when center Matt Cullen did his Bobby Orr-header after scoring in the second period.

There was satisfaction, as when defenseman Pavel Trnka pumped his first after whipping a shot into the net in the third period.

And there was a been-there-done-that routine by Andy McDonald, who held a statue-like pose after scoring what was the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Which led to a team mob scene at the end.

There were more than enough thrill-of-victory moments for an announced 9,583 at the Arrowhead Pond.

“Hey, I was just trying to mix up the celebrating,” Cullen said about his head-first leap into the corner after tying the score, 1-1, in the second period.

Certainly the Ducks now have a little reason to celebrate in their season on the blink. They have won seven of nine heading into the Olympic break.

Those victories have taken them tantalizingly close to the mediocre level.

For the next 12 days, while the cream of the NHL--and that does include a couple of Ducks--competes in the Olympics, the Ducks can bask in their recent play.

Even better, Paul Kariya (Canada) and Oleg Tverdovsky (Russia) will have a week to savor at the Olympics, where they actually have a chance at success on the ice.

Then it’s back to work, which involves making something out of the Ducks’ final 21 games.

“We would like to just have a strong finish to our season,” defenseman Keith Carney said.

“I think we’ve made some strides here the last few weeks.... We know how hard we have to work each night to be successful.”

That was a formula that worked Wednesday.

Twice the Ducks fell behind against the struggling Flames, who are 7-15-2 since Dec. 14.

Twice the Ducks rallied to tie the score.

Then McDonald flew out of the Duck zone, bore down on goalie Roman Turek and zipped a shot into the net for a 3-2 Duck lead.

The goal extended McDonald’s point streak to seven games, the longest by a NHL rookie since Scott Gomez in 1999. It is also one shy of the Duck record, set by Kariya in 1995.

More importantly, it gave the Ducks a lead they could protect, which they did by matching the Flames check for check.

“Against this team it’s always going to be a gritty game,” Cullen said. “We knew it was going to be tough game and we would have to battle all over the ice.”

That’s experience speaking.

Still, there were none of the brawls that made a Dec. 8 game between these teams an embarrassment, when they combined for 309 penalty minutes. Jarome Iginla gave the Flames a 1-0 lead with his league-high 35 goals midway through the first period.

Cullen got the Ducks even when he swooped in to pick up a gimme five minutes into the second period. Jason York zeroed in and let loose a shot that Turek stopped, but the puck trickled through his legs. Cullen was there to push it into the net.

Cullen has five goals in his last eight games.

He had two in his last 42 games last season.

“I’ve been hanging near the net more than I used to,” Cullen said.

“Instead of drifting off to the side, I’m trying pick up things in front of the net.”

Steve Begin scored on a rebound, giving Calgary a 2-1 lead after two periods.

Trnka got the Ducks even with a shot from the blue line that somehow squeezed between Turek and the right post to tie the score, 2-2, near the start of the third period.

McDonald struck a minute later.