Two Help Ducks From Day 1

They were key pickups last season, two big reasons the Mighty Ducks made the playoffs and reached the Stanley Cup final.

The upside for the Ducks is they will have defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and forward Rob Niedermayer from Day 1 this season. Both showed the benefits of that Friday in a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at the Arrowhead Pond.

Ozolinsh assisted on the Ducks’ first goal and Niedermayer scored the second, tying the score 3 minutes, 54 seconds into the third period.

“Sometimes guys are full of vim and vigor when they get traded, wanting to prove themselves,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “Then they relax a little the next season. There’s a happy medium, and we want to find it.”

Ozolinsh and Niedermayer seem pretty much there.

Ozolinsh carried the puck deep into the San Jose zone and fired a shot that goalie Miikka Kiprusoff saved. Petr Sykora got the rebound and swept the puck in for a 1-0 Duck lead.

Niedermayer, acquired on March 11 last season, tied the score when he slipped toward the net, picked up a loose puck and guided it past Kiprusoff.

“With this system, you have to be in the right spot at the right time,” Ozolinsh said. He had to learn that on the fly last season. He was acquired in a Jan. 30 trade with Florida and had five goals and 18 points in 31 games.

Vaclav Prospal seems to be adjusting. He scored the game-winner 10:41 into the third period. With the Sharks on the power play, Kiprusoff made a poor clearing attempt. Prospal turned and scored before Kiprusoff could get back in the net.

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Center Steve Rucchin, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, said he expects to make his exhibition season debut next week. The Ducks play Florida at the Pond on Friday and at San Jose on Saturday.

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Jozef Stumpel is back where he was two years ago, but with an asterisk.

Because the Kings had so little depth during his first stint with them, he became their first-line center by default -- until they dealt him and Glen Murray to Boston for Jason Allison.

The Kings reacquired him in June to center their second line, but post-concussion problems have left Allison’s status unclear and put Stumpel back where he started in several ways.

“It’s weird, but it feels good,” said Stumpel, who will center an all-Slovak line with Ziggy Palffy and Lubos Bartecko tonight against Phoenix at Staples Center.

This time, the Kings have reserves at center in Derek Armstrong and Michael Cammalleri.

“We’ve got lots of talent,” Stumpel said Friday. “All the lines are pretty strong. If the puck doesn’t go in for you, maybe the other line will score.”

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Defenseman Aaron Miller (bruised hand) won’t play tonight.... Noah Clarke of La Verne will play on a line with Esa Pirnes and 2003 first-round draft pick Dustin Brown.... Centers Scott Barney, Leon Hayward and Alex Kim, defensemen Chris Barr and Doug Nolan and goalie Terry Denike were assigned to Manchester of the American Hockey League. Center Vladislav Balaz, right wing Petr Kanko, goalie Ryan Mince and left wing Mark Rooneem were returned to their respective junior teams. Fifty-one players remain on the preseason roster.

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NHL teams last season totaled record losses of nearly $300 million, up from $218 million the previous season, and spent 76% of revenue on players’ salaries and benefits, according to figures given to owners this summer and published in the Wall Street Journal. NHL executives are seeking what Commissioner Gary Bettman calls “cost certainty” in the next collective bargaining agreement with players. The current agreement expires Sept. 15, 2004. The NHL is the only major North American sports league without a salary cap or luxury tax.