Ducks go on offense to end skid

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Relief for a slumping, offensively challenged Ducks team arrived in the form of the equally punchless New York Islanders.

Not only did they finally end a long stretch without a goal, but the Ducks used their new-found offense to break a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum.

Scott Niedermayer got their first goal in more than two games while Todd Marchant and Doug Weight each ended long droughts to give the Ducks their first win at the halfway mark of their eight-game trip.

Relief at last.

“A win always does that,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. “It would have been tough. We’ve lost six hockey games. We’ve only got one point out of six games. That’s not good enough for the group of players we have.”

The offensive output allowed Jean-Sebastien Giguere to celebrate this shutout. Giguere stopped 25 shots for his second shutout in consecutive starts and fourth of the season. And this one he could celebrate after moving past Guy Hebert to set the club’s all-time mark with his 28th in Friday’s 1-0 shootout loss to St. Louis.

Following his meltdown after being pulled against Minnesota, Giguere has stopped all 45 shots he’s faced in regulation and overtime.

“I think it’s everybody together,” Giguere said. “Yes, I have been playing a little bit better. I think everybody’s tightening it up in their own end and making sure we follow the game plan a little better. You can’t be successful in this league without your teammates.”

The Ducks hadn’t scored a goal since Corey Perry’s tally in the second period of a 5-1 loss last week at Minnesota and the streak reached 177 minutes 56 seconds. Niedermayer provided the breakthrough moment when he one-timed a wrist shot between the pads of Rick DiPietro, the Islanders’ All-Star goalie, early in the second period.

“Everyone’s aware of the fact that we hadn’t scored in a while,” Niedermayer said. “Whenever you score, it kind of releases a little bit of tension.”

It was apparent on the bench when everyone rose to finally bump fists with a teammate.

“Scotty’s was the biggest,” Weight said. “When you’re arid like we’ve been, you just need that first goal.”

The goal was aided by Teemu Selanne, who got an assist in his first game since he ended his semi-retirement last week. Selanne kept the puck alive in the offensive zone along the left half-board and got it to Chris Pronger, who set up Niedermayer with a perfect pass.

Selanne played an even 18 minutes and had four shots on goal in his first game in over seven months. He admitted that he got tired as the game wore on.

“It was awesome,” Selanne said. “It wasn’t very easy. It went much better than I thought, obviously missing that much time. The first game back is never going to be easy.”

Carlyle acknowledged that the high-scoring forward needed to knock off some rust but added that his presence was felt.

“You can also see the speed that he has,” he said. “He puts people back. You can see the defensemen when they’re looking at him coming. He’s a guy that is very, very dangerous at any time out there.”

Marchant got just his second goal in 31 games when he put a backhand through a screen set by Ryan Carter, who took the place of an ill Travis Moen. Weight broke a nine-game pointless drought with his fifth goal for the Ducks, but he chose to focus on Niedermayer, the one who has always seemed to deliver the key goal when they’ve absolutely needed it.

“On this team, you’ve got a lot of pretty unbelievable guys you might point at,” Weight said. “But, yeah, he’s the guy.”

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eric.stephens@latimes.com