Ozolinsh Has Big Goal in Ducks’ 4-2 Victory

Once a perennial All-Star defenseman who regularly made a difference on the ice, Sandis Ozolinsh’s only impact for the Mighty Ducks this season has been off the ice.

Burdened by several injuries and humbled by a stay in the NHL’s substance abuse program, Ozolinsh has had little to feel good about this season. That all changed Friday night.

In only his second game with the Ducks since his time in counseling, Ozolinsh’s goal deep into the third period broke a tie with the Minnesota Wild and powered the Ducks to a 4-2 victory at the Arrowhead Pond.

The victory was critical as the Ducks (28-20-11) kept pace with eighth-place Edmonton, staying three points behind the Oilers for the final playoff spot. They also managed to solve the puzzle that was the Wild, which had won the three previous meetings.

But it was also a victory for the 33-year-old defenseman. Ozolinsh broke a 2-2 tie with 7:11 remaining when his hard slapshot was redirected by Minnesota’s Pascal Dupuis over the shoulder of Wild goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

“For a player that’s went through the situation that he’s went through and who’s trying to make a comeback into our lineup, it’s a big-time goal,” Duck Coach Randy Carlyle said. “It’s a big relief for him.”

Ozolinsh was playing in his 15th game this season after signing a two-year contract extension last July. After leaving the program last month, he played for his native Latvia in the Winter Olympics before rejoining the Ducks.

“I’m very grateful to get back here and I got a lot of support from my teammates and everybody,” Ozolinsh said. “Trying to keep positive.”

Rookie forward Ryan Getzlaf set up the winning play when he got the puck behind the net and slid it out to Ozolinsh at the point. Teemu Selanne added an empty-net goal to secure the Ducks’ 12th victory in their last 18 home games.

“We’re real happy to have [Sandis] back,” said Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who made 36 saves. “He seems to be in a really good mood. He’s got a lot less worries and it seems like he’s having fun on the ice.”

Manny Fernandez had beaten the Ducks three times, but Roloson got the start with Minnesota playing on back-to-back nights. The veteran backup helped snap the Ducks out of their post-break malaise with a key misplay in the second period.

As the Ducks dumped the puck into the left corner of the Minnesota zone, Roloson went after it but couldn’t keep the puck from floating outside the trapezoid area behind the net.

Aware that Roloson couldn’t play the puck or risk getting a two-minute minor penalty under the new NHL rules, Samuel Pahlsson rushed in and fired it off the scrambling goalie’s back and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

It was just Pahlsson’s fourth goal of the season, his first since Jan. 6 in Dallas.

“There wasn’t a lot of things going for us and we got a big short-handed goal,” Carlyle said. “That brought us to life.”

Todd White answered for Minnesota, but Corey Perry put the Ducks back in front with 12 seconds remaining in the second. Perry whistled a slap shot past Roloson from the right faceoff dot to give them a rare power-play goal against the league’s best penalty-killing team.

Wild forward Marian Gaborik forged another tie with a pretty play at 4:37 of the third as he handled the puck through Joffrey Lupul’s legs and beat Giguere with a wrist shot.