Chelios Fires Up Kariya, Ducks

The Mighty Ducks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0, ending a three-game losing streak and a five-game winless streak Wednesday before a crowd of 15,254 at the Arrowhead Pond.

So much for the bookkeeping.

Now, for the good stuff.

What you won’t find in the boxscore are the slashes, spears, dirty looks and put-downs exchanged between Duck captain Paul Kariya and Chris Chelios, his Chicago counterpart and frequent tormentor.

It took a while, but they went at it again Wednesday.

Good thing, too.

If it weren’t for Kariya versus Chelios, the Ducks versus Blackhawks on Wednesday would have been just another dull February game between two struggling teams.

Instead, the teams put on another lively show with the Ducks winning for the third time in four games against the Blackhawks.

You will recall that it was Chelios’ rough play against Kariya that led to Gary Suter’s cross-check last Feb. 1, which put the Duck left winger out for last season’s final 28 games.

Remember, too, it was Chelios’ unkind comments later that sparked more bad blood between the teams.

Wednesday, Chelios played his usual hard-nosed game against Kariya, badgering him at every turn with play that often bordered on dirty. That’s Chelios’ method of operation, so Kariya ought to be used to it.

Kariya responded by getting the Ducks’ first goal and barely missing a second as he ended a three-game scoring drought. Matt Cullen scored the Ducks’ second goal, on a power play only 24 seconds into the third period, and Marty McInnis added an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Chelios was on the ice for all three Duck goals.

Goaltender Guy Hebert and the Duck defense then muzzled the Blackhawks and right wing Tony Amonte, who went into the game locked in four-way tie for the NHL lead with 27 goals.

Hebert recorded his fifth shutout in 1998-99, topping his career high of four in a season, set in 1995-96 and 1996-97. It was his first since a 3-0 victory Dec. 13 against the Kings.

In the end, perhaps a little jarring from Chelios and his teammates was just what Kariya and the Ducks needed to break from their midseason slump.

Coach Craig Hartsburg’s shuffling of his top two lines didn’t exactly turn the Ducks into the Edmonton Oilers of the mid-1980s.

Cullen did have plenty of chances to score while playing with Kariya and Teemu Selanne on the first line, however. Steve Rucchin, who skated on the second line between wingers McInnis and Tomas Sandstrom, also had active game around the net.

But like Saturday’s 1-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Ducks didn’t generate much offense. They were outshot, 35-23, for the game.

Still, the Ducks had three of the game’s first four scoring chances and led, 1-0, after Kariya shoveled a rebound past Chicago goalie Jocelyn Thibault only 3:34 into the first period.

Chicago, 1-2-1 in the first four games of a western trip, carried the play for most of the early going.

Center Todd White had the Blackhawks’ best first-period scoring chance, racing past defenseman Jason Marshall on the left wing. But White couldn’t squeeze the puck past Hebert.

Kariya nearly scored his second goal of the game midway through the second period. He raised his arms in celebration, but television replays clearly showed the puck struck the crossbar. In fact, there was a black scuff mark on the red metal to prove it.

Earlier in the period, Kariya and Selanne raced toward Thibault on a two-on-one break. Kariya passed to Selanne from the left wing to the right, but the play didn’t click and the Ducks failed to add to their one-goal lead.

The Ducks also had a two-man advantage for 27 seconds in the final minutes of the second period, but the ensuing faceoff was in the neutral zone and they failed to generate a quality scoring chance.

Selanne had perhaps the best opportunity to score after White exited the penalty box and the Blackhawks were only down one man. But Selanne’s shot misfired and the rebound hopped over Rucchin’s stick.