Ducks Have a Hit Network Show

In what is quickly developing into the great Ducks goaltending battle, this much is known after three games. Neither Jean-Sebastien Giguere nor Ilya Bryzgalov is giving much ground.

Giguere backed up his strong performance Friday night with a better one Monday night as he recorded his 22nd career shutout by stopping 34 shots in a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues at the Honda Center.

Chris Kunitz scored both goals on the power play in a victory that gave the Ducks their first-ever 3-0 start, albeit against a team picked to be among the worst in the Western Conference.

The feeling is that the Ducks have yet to put their best game on display.

“We feel there’s areas for improvement,” center Todd Marchant said. “That being said, you get two points in this league on any given night and you take it. You get better for the next game.”

Showing he wasn’t hampered by the leg cramp he suffered Friday against the Kings, Giguere looked sharp Monday. He made several big saves in a 14-shot second period by the Blues, including one on a blast by Bill Guerin that stung him.

In his two starts, Giguere has stopped 75 of 78 shots. Bryzgalov held up his end of the competition Saturday night, making 34 saves in a 2-1 win at Phoenix.

The Ducks are liking what they see from both goalies.

“Jiggy played great tonight and against L.A.,” Marchant said. “Certainly Bryz played well against Phoenix. If we’re letting him see the first shot and we’re clearing out the second and third, that makes their job easier.”

While the Ducks’ overall game hasn’t entirely clicked, some parts have. They’ve scored five power-play goals in 16 chances.

Kunitz provided two of them, in the first and third period, to back up Giguere’s strong effort.

“It seems most of our goals have been on the power play so far,” Kunitz said. “That’s what happens when you start having good chemistry and guys are working the puck around.”

The Ducks’ penalty killing also has been effective. They foiled all five St. Louis opportunities and have killed 16 of 18 short-handed situations in all.

“When you talk about specialty teams, at times they go in cycles,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. “We’d like it to remain in an up cycle because it’s a very, very critical part of your play early in the season and it just intensifies as the season goes on.”

Kunitz put them ahead at 16:42 of the first period when he situated himself in front of St. Louis goaltender Curtis Sanford and used his stick to redirect in a one-timer by Teemu Selanne.

The Ducks misfired on some chances. In the second, Chris Pronger intercepted a pass out of the air and fed a breaking Ryan Getzlaf but the center’s backhand was stopped by Sanford.

Later in the period, Dustin Penner poked a redirect try wide after getting a nice pass from Corey Perry. But while Sanford held his own in giving Manny Legace the night off, Giguere kept the Blues at bay to keep the lead.

Kunitz gave the Ducks some breathing room in the third, when they took advantage of a carry-over hooking penalty by the Blues’ Martin Rucinsky late in the second. Andy McDonald got a pass from Selanne and sent it toward Kunitz, who was again parked in front of the net.

As he battled two defensemen, Kunitz got the loose puck and tucked it past the Blues’ goalie for his third goal of the young season, creating a two-goal lead. In his 19-goal rookie season a year ago, Kunitz didn’t get his third until Dec. 8.

“Some days you have bad breaks and some days the puck bounces your way,” he said. “You just try to be consistent, keep working hard and try to score more goals.”

eric.stephens@latimes.com