McDonald Stands, Delivers

Meet the Mighty Ducks’ newest muscle man, the guy who does the hard work in front of the net.

OK, so maybe on the ice Andy McDonald fulfills that image about as well as he fills out his jersey. But looks are deceiving in this case.

McDonald made a tremendous pest of himself in a 5-1 Duck victory over Toronto in front of 15,903 at the Arrowhead Pond Wednesday. He spent the evening darting here and there, usually winding up in prime scoring spots.

Behind McDonald’s two goals and one assist, numbers that were matched by linemate Sergei Fedorov, the Ducks dominated the Maple Leafs to win their second consecutive game.

“That was really good,” said Fedorov, whose three points moved him ahead Maurice “Rocket” Richard into 71st place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. “After the game, all the guys were really happy. The coaches were really happy. I think we should stick to that.”

Fedorov’s stick work certainly put smiles on Duck faces.

Fedorov, McDonald and Stanislav Chistov were grouped together last game and the three seemed like old friends Wednesday.

“We just put the bingo balls in the bucket and kept pulling names out,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “Things haven’t been there all season. We finally got some combinations that worked. I thought Sergei’s line dominated the game.”

McDonald, all 5 feet 10, 174 pounds of him, did his part in front of the net. He missed the final 29 regular-season games and the playoffs with a concussion but seemed back to full speed Wednesday, with the third two-goal game of his three-year NHL career.

Fedorov and Chistov (two assists) were part of the act as well.

“Those guys control the puck and make plays,” McDonald said. “I drive to the net and mix it up.”

That hardly seems a role suited to McDonald at first glance. But what he lacks in size he makes up for in moxie.

“When things aren’t going your way, you just have to get back to playing simple,” said McDonald, who scored his first two goals of the season. “You get in front of the net and hack and whack.”

McDonald did that twice. He scored the first goal, which came after the Ducks peppered goaltender Ed Belfour. Chistov and Fedorov had quality chances in a matter of seconds. McDonald snagged the rebound on Fedorov’s second shot, then spun and shoveled the puck, which went off the stick of Toronto’s Tom Fitzgerald and into the net for a 1-0 lead 11:20 into the game.

McDonald continued to make a nuisance of himself in front of the net, so much so that at one point Belfour took a swipe at him with his stick. After Belfour stopped a Joffrey Lupul try, McDonald swooped in and batted in the puck for a power-play goal and a 2-1 lead 4:56 into the second period.

Fedorov extended the lead, picking up a Maple Leaf turnover and flicking a wrist shot in at 7:26 of the second period. Late in the period, Fedorov charged into the Maple Leaf zone and flung a backhander toward the net. The puck went off the skate of defenseman Ken Klee, who was tangled up with McDonald, and ricocheted into the net for a 4-1 lead at 18:45.