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Thornton, Marchant lead Ducks in rout of Capitals

Dec 9, 2006 - 2:48 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Shawn Thornton's return to the NHL would have made "Mr. Hockey" proud.

Thornton had a goal and an assist and Todd Marchant scored one tally and set up two others for the Anaheim Ducks, who became the first team to record 50 points this season with a 6-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Recalled earlier Friday from Portland of the American Hockey League, Thornton needed just 57 seconds to score en route to the "Gordie Howe hat trick". In addition to a second-period assist that completed the feat, he also fought Washington defenseman John Erskine in the opening session.

"The old 'Gordie Howe (hat trick)'", Thornton said. "I don't think I've had one of those before, definitely not up here, not even in the minors. I would chalk that up to a little luck."

"He was playing great before he got sent down and got called back up," Marchant said. "We're happy for him to get in the lineup and be a contributor like he was. He gets a goal, he gets an assist, he gets a fight. That's a great way to make a statement in his first game (back)."

Thornton gave Anaheim the lead when he picked up a loose puck in the right corner, skated toward the net and lifted a backhander into the top right corner past goaltender Olaf Kolzig.

"The puck popped out and I just took it to the net, and I got lucky, throwing it upstairs," Thornton said.

"Shawn was able to get the puck and made a great play, (a) nice backhand," Marchant said. "It got us started off on the right foot."

Marchant doubled the margin with 5:06 left in the opening session, when he intercepted Kolzig's lazy pass behind the net and scored a shorthanded tally on a wraparound inside the right goalpost.

"It was just miscommunication between me and (Alexander Semin)," Kolzig said. "I thought he was coming back to get it and I was just giving him a soft little pass. My fault for not making a harder pass. His fault for not stopping on the puck."

Thornton picked up an assist on Anaheim's third goal, which was scored by Dustin Penner off a rebound of Marchant's shot at 7:16 of the second period. It was his 10th tally of the season.

"We've developed a game plan and a structure we're trying to stick with," Penner said. "I know we haven't played a perfect 60 minutes yet, and that's our goal. Every night, we're trying to improve on our last game. We played pretty well."

Teemu Selanne widened the margin to 4-0 just 2:45 into the third session with his team-leading 16th of the campaign. It also was the 508th goal of his career, moving him past Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau for 32nd place on the all-time list.

"Those are the kinds of things you start appreciating when you're done playing," Selanne said. "Playing almost 1,000 games and all those goals and points (shows) you've done a good job in this league."

Andy McDonald scored his 10th goal, Corey Perry netted his first in 13 games and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 26 saves for the Ducks, who raised their road record to 9-1-2.

"We're a team that prides itself on working hard, whether it's at home or on the road," Marchant said. "Those little things add up to the big picture. All 23 guys on the roster have bought into the concept, and they've been successful for the first 30 games."

Anaheim (22-3-6) opened the five-game road trip with its seventh win in eight games and eighth in the last 11 meetings against the Capitals.

Semin notched his 12th tally and Kolzig stopped 28 shots for Washington, which had its four-game winning streak stopped.

"I thought the difference tonight was the execution on their part," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "It's just a smart team that controlled the puck. They had the puck most of the night. ... They played very disciplined and adapted."