Ducks Put Best Effort Forward

The Mighty Ducks’ worst fears seemed to flash in front of their eyes Thursday night against a team many consider to be the best in the NHL.

There was the late goal that nearly ruined one of their best efforts of the season. There was the possibility of adding to their horrid records in one-goal games, road games and overtime. And there was a goaltender who hasn’t fared well in shootouts opposite one of the best in the world.

Another excruciating defeat might have been the order of the day, but the Ducks showed some resolve against the Ottawa Senators. Chris Kunitz got the only goal in the shootout, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped all three attempts he faced in a 4-3 victory at Scotiabank Place.

The victory by the Ducks (20-16-9) will go down as one of their best and one that was needed as they fight to stay in the playoff picture. Playing their third consecutive overtime game, they won their second in 11 attempts with both wins coming in the shootout.

“We’ve had a couple of losses in the overtime and the shootout and stuff,” said Kunitz, who also had a goal in regulation. “It’s just a good win for our team on the road against a good team like the Ottawa Senators. We can go back home and try and put a winning streak together.”

After consecutive losses to last-place teams in Washington and Boston, the Ducks responded with a focused effort against the Northeast Division-leading Senators (31-10-4).

They rallied from a two-goal deficit with three second-period goals against Dominik Hasek while outshooting Ottawa, 39-33. They had a decisive edge in faceoff wins and had the majority of quality scoring chances.

But it appeared all for naught when Dany Heatley tied the score with 2:28 remaining on a rebound goal while the Senators were short-handed.

That was when Giguere became a tower of strength after struggling in the first period in his first game in six days. The veteran goalie made a point-blank save on Heatley in the final seconds of regulation and foiled Bryan Smolinski in overtime.

“It was a tough battle for me today,” said Giguere, who made 30 saves. “I didn’t feel my sharpest. But I just wanted to battle as hard as I could. The guys in front of me worked so hard tonight. We deserved to win tonight.”

Duck Coach Randy Carlyle went to Kunitz first in the shootout knowing that the rookie left wing scored in the team’s other shootout win Dec. 31 at St. Louis. Kunitz went with a familiar move, a quick fake with the forehand before carrying the puck to his backhand and flipping it top shelf over the fallen goalie.

This time, the 40-year-old Hasek, a future Hall of Famer with 319 victories, became his victim.

Giguere then made saves on Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Patrick Eaves.

“We were fortunate enough to find a way to get the shootout goal,” Carlyle said. “Kunitz had a big move and surprised Hasek.”

Despite a 15-9 shot advantage in the first period, the Ducks trailed 2-0 as Giguere’s rust was apparent. He couldn’t stop Smolinski’s rather pedestrian wrist shot for a power-play goal and was cleanly beaten by Eaves on a one-timer on the short side.

But the Ducks were far from done as they controlled most of the action with a strong forechecking game. Their work paid off with three second-period goals.

Kunitz, playing with a cut right elbow, started the rally by punching in a rebound with the Ducks on a two-man advantage. Forward Teemu Selanne, who returned after missing two games with a groin injury, got his team-leading 20th and Todd Marchant followed with his first goal in 11 games.

“The first period was actually not a bad period,” Marchant said. “We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities and we did that in the second period.

“When our team is skating and we’re playing like this, we’re as good as any team in the league.”