Ducks Make Their Point Late

This was a little nibble of last season for the Mighty Ducks that made the night a tad more digestible for the coach.

A clutch goal. A strong performance in goal. A stunned group of Detroit Red Wings.

Petr Sykora and Vaclav Prospal teamed up to get the Ducks a 2-2 tie with the Red Wings in front of an announced 17,174 at the Arrowhead Pond. Sykora made a neat center pass and, in a scramble in front of the net, Prospal batted the puck in the net with one minute left in regulation.

If last season seems like a speck in the rearview mirror for the struggling Ducks, they could at least take momentary satisfaction in an effort that somewhat resembled a game from their playoff run.

Then it was back to the reality.

“This was one point, we need wins,” team captain Steve Rucchin said. “We need the two points.”

Still....

“Usually we have been giving away leads,” Rucchin said. “This time we came from behind. It’s nice to be on the other side. It’s been said too many times this season, but maybe this is something we can build on. Really, all the talking is done.”

Goals by Pavel Datsyuk and Mathieu Schneider gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead with time running out.

But Sykora, who had the Ducks’ first goal, beat two Detroit players to the puck in the corner and whisked a pass into the crease.

Joffrey Lupul’s shot hit the left post, and Prospal then knocked in the rebound to tie the score.

That lessened the sting Coach Mike Babcock felt from the officiating. The Ducks had two power plays.

The Red Wings had six, one coming on a too-many-men on the ice call where the Ducks claimed they had too many men on the bench.

Duck officials said the video showed only four Ducks on the ice.

“We battled, but 6-2 [on power plays]?” an angry Babcock shouted to reporters after the game.

As to the too-many-men call, he said, “I mean, don’t make [stuff] up. That’s unbelievable.”

What else could you expect from a Duck-Red Wing game?

This was the Red Wings’ first visit to the Pond since being swept in the first round of the playoffs last season.

They undoubtedly noticed some differences.

Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who dominated the Red Wings in the first round, was on the bench.

Still, the Red Wings must have had visions of Giguere when Gerber made a leg save to deny Brendan Shanahan on a backhander with 1:08 left in overtime.

Gerber stopped 22 of 24 shots, allowing fewer than three goals for the 12th time in 17 starts this season.

What also had to seem familiar was the way the Ducks pounced on an opportunity.

Samuel Pahlsson beat goalie Manny Legace to the puck behind the net.

He centered to Sykora, who chipped the puck into the open net with 12 seconds left in the second period.

While the Ducks have not lived up to expectations, the Red Wings returned to Anaheim with the same talent-rich team that has won three Stanley Cups in the last seven seasons.

“It makes the game a lot easier to play,” said former Duck Steve Thomas, who returned to the Red Wing lineup after sitting out 19 games because of a knee injury. “You get passes right on tape. There are five or six Hall of Famers in the dressing room.”

The one missing ingredient is Sergei Fedorov, who sat out the game because of stomach flu.

His role in Detroit has been neatly filled by Datsyuk, who went around Prospal like he was bolted to the ice and flipped a wrist-shot under Gerber’s arm for a power-play goal 12:22 into the first period.

The goal was first waved off, then allowed after replays clearly showed the puck hit the back of the net.