Cullen Making a Gigantic Leap

His quirky leap into the glass Wednesday aside, there is much that center Matt Cullen can feel good about as another Mighty Duck season meanders toward a merciful finish.

Cullen’s abilities on the ice--which are far greater than his ability to leap off the ice--are being demonstrated over the long haul. His two-goal game in the Ducks’ 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins is another example.

This was the third two-goal game of the season for Cullen, two of which have been against the Penguins. His first goal, which gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead, was followed by a boyish leap into the boards. His second, which broke a 1-1 tie with 39.5 seconds left in the first period, quieted the large Penguin segment in an announced crowd of 12,536 at the Arrowhead Pond.

This was definite progress. After all, Cullen had only two goals in the Ducks’ final 42 games last season.

“I think I’ve taken a different mind-set this season. I’ve been attacking more,” Cullen said. “But part of it is I feel I have a little something to prove. A lot of people said I faded down the stretch last year.”

His two goals put a rare Duck game in motion.

Ruslan Salei scored his first goal since Nov. 14, a span of 48 games. Steve Rucchin scored his first since returning from a 44-game absence due to a stress fracture in his ankle. Timo Parssinen, playing with a broken bone in his right wrist, had two assists.

True this came against an injury-plagued Penguin team that is 4-9-1-2 in its last 16 games. But there have been few of these games for the Ducks, who have won 10 of 15 games.

“It wears on all of us,” Murray said. “I don’t like the fact that we only have [57] points and we’re not going to be in playoffs at this point in time.”

Things haven’t always been rosy for Cullen. In December, he was benched for three games. In January, his name was included on a list of Duck players available for trades.

Yet, with 14 goals in the 35 games since returning from his three-game benching, Cullen can pretty much count on maintaining this zip code.

With 18 goals this season, he can expect a boost in pay from the $484,000 he is making this season.

“Scoring 20 goals would mean a lot this year,” Cullen said.

That shouldn’t be a problem, if his two goals Wednesday are indications.

Cullen picked up a loose puck at center ice, danced around two Penguins at the blue line, then used defenseman Billy Tibbetts to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the first period.