Ducks Gain Rare Win in Columbus

They are still the Columbus Blue Jackets, a franchise defined by losing since their inception five years ago. Few victories against them can be classified as significant.

Unless you’re the Mighty Ducks, who’ve often had problems at Nationwide Arena. Their history in the boisterous building has been littered with inexplicable losses.

Using old-fashioned perseverance and iron will, the Ducks rid themselves of a few demons Sunday night with a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory that was critical in their dogged pursuit of a playoff berth.

It was no ordinary victory and it might have provided an omen. The Ducks (33-21-12) had lost seven of nine previous games in Columbus.

The last time they came through these parts in late December, Teemu Selanne accidentally put the puck in his own net and Blue Jacket goalie Marc Denis stood on his head in a 1-0 victory.

“They always play well against us,” goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “We should be happy.”

The victory also provided an emotional boost heading into tonight’s game against Pacific Division-leading Dallas that ends a four-game trip. It was won on a conventional power-play goal by Joffrey Lupul in the third, but to reach that point required unconventional means.

Duck Coach Randy Carlyle raised some eyebrows by inserting little-used left wing Travis Moen into the lineup and sitting regular forward Jonathan Hedstrom. After the Ducks rallied to tie the score, 3-3, in the second period, Carlyle pulled starting goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.

Both moves worked. Moen started a three-goal rally by scoring in his first game since Jan. 25, and Giguere made some key saves late in the game to preserve their fifth win in six games.

“He earned his opportunity,” Carlyle said of Moen. “He gave us some energy [and] controlled the puck down low. Played hard. Big man.”

About the goalie change, he said, “I was going to change them earlier because the first shot in the second period, it looked like it got away from Bryz. I asked Jiggy how long does it take you to warm up. That’s why it took so long.”

Giguere saw only a few shots until the final minute, when the Ducks were at a two-man disadvantage after Sean O’Donnell was whistled for interference and the Blue Jackets pulled Denis for an extra attacker.

Of his 18 saves, none were bigger than his robbing Rick Nash on a rebound attempt with 1.8 seconds remaining.

“I knew I had to battle,” Giguere said. “There was going to be a lot of traffic. Six-on-fours are a tough situation.”

The first 20 minutes had the distinct appearance of another disappointing Ohio night for the Ducks. Even without injured center Sergei Fedorov, Columbus had a 16-2 shot advantage at one point and took a 2-1 lead on goals by Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche.

Nash finished a two-on-one break with Zherdev at the beginning of the second for a 3-1 lead. The Blue Jackets suddenly stopped skating and the Ducks ratcheted up their play.

After Moen’s goal, Corey Perry scored less than two minutes later to tie the score, 3-3. Francois Beauchemin also had a goal and an assist against his former team. Selanne and Scott Niedermayer each had two assists.

TONIGHT

at Dallas, 5:30 PST, FSNW2

Site -- American Airlines Center.

Radio -- 1540.

Records -- Ducks 33-21-12; Stars 45-19-3.

Record vs. Stars -- 0-4-0.

Update -- The Stars have a firm grasp on the No. 2 playoff spot in the Western Conference and remain within striking distance of the Detroit Red Wings for the potential top seeding. Dallas has three 60-point scorers in Mike Modano, Jason Arnott and Sergei Zubov, while Jere Lehtinen has a team-high 30 goals.