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Getzlaf scores twice as Ducks win fourth straight

Mar 10, 2007 - 7:47 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Judy Garland once said, "There's no place like home." No adage could ring more true for the Anaheim Ducks right now.

Ryan Getzlaf scored two goals and set up another as the Ducks remained perfect on their season-high eight-game homestand with a 5-1 triumph over the struggling Edmonton Oilers.

Improving to 4-0-0 on the longest stretch of home games in franchise history, Anaheim (41-17-11) climbed within three points of idle Nashville (45-18-6) for first place in the Western Conference. A successful homestand is critical for the Ducks, who play seven of their final nine contests of the season on the road.

"The whole team is having a great time and the coaching staff is keeping a light atmosphere," Anaheim rookie Dustin Penner said. "We enjoy coming to the rink."

Entering with an overall home winning streak of four games, Anaheim jumped to an early lead as Getzlaf netted a power-play goal just 78 seconds into the first period. After helping set up Corey Perry's tally early in the second, Getzlaf completed his third two-goal effort of the campaign 5 1/2 minutes into the session with his 23rd of the season.

In four meetings with the Oilers this campaign, Getzlaf scored five times.

Perry added an assist, Penner scored a goal and set up another and defenseman Scott Niedermayer recorded a pair of assists for the Ducks, who improved to 23-5-7 at the Honda Center.

"We're headed in the right direction and hopefully we can keep playing like that," said Anaheim center Andy McDonald, who capped the scoring late in the third with his 20th goal. "If we're going to have any success in the playoffs, we're going to need to play well and compete like that every night."

"We demonstrated that we played four lines," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We spread our team play out. When you look at it, we got a contribution from everybody on the forecheck. We were pretty responsible defensively and we didn't give up too many odd-man rushes."

Toby Petersen netted a shorthanded tally for Edmonton, which has scored just five goals during its six-game losing streak.

Shawn Horcoff put the Oilers in an early hole, committing a high-sticking penalty 37 seconds into the game that led to Getzlaf's first goal, a one-timer from the left point that hit a defender's stick before getting past goaltender Jussi Markkanen.

"I didn't really expect it to go in," Getzlaf said. "I didn't really get all of it, but I'll take anything that comes my way right now."

Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish was not pleased with Markkanen's effort on the Ducks' first shot of the game, replacing him with Dwayne Roloson immediately after the tally.

"I had a good angle on it from the bench and it looked like a very savable shot," MacTavish said. "I didn't think that he had a particularly good practice this morning and I didn't think that he could give up a goal like that at this level. ... I just thought of it as a terrible goal that's unacceptable at this level."

"I wasn't surprised," Markkanen said of being pulled. "Nothing really surprises me. It would have been nice to continue, but it's the coach's decision. ... It wasn't the most important game of the year, but Anaheim is a good hockey team, so it would have been nice to play a little better. I'm more disappointed that the goal actually went in."

With his team in danger of missing the playoffs after coming within one win of the Stanley Cup last season, MacTavish is just focusing on ending the Oilers' losing streak. But he knows it will not happen without better efforts from Markkanen and Roloson.

"We won't be able to win without good goaltending," he said. "If we can't get better goaltending, then we're in for a mess of trouble."

The trouble continued in the second period, when Perry gathered a loose puck behind the net and came out near the left goalpost to deposit it past Roloson at 1:53.

"I was going to pass it, and Getzy started yelling, 'Wrap, wrap,' and I turned and fired it towards the net," Perry said. "I just tipped it and it went off the back of Roloson into the back of the net."

Getzlaf made it 3-0 at 5:33, when he converted a backhand pass by Niedermayer from the slot.

Petersen got Edmonton on the board midway through the session with his first goal in 15 games. But Penner netted his sixth in as many contests with 1:50 remaining, pushing in the puck during a scramble in the crease.

"I can't think of any element of our game that was pretty good," MacTavish said. "Even the one goal we scored was on a fluky play."

Petersen acknowledged his goal came on a stroke of luck.

"There seemed to be a miscommunication between their defenseman and the goaltender, and they just left the puck (in front)," he said. "The puck was just sitting there for me. It was kind of a gift."

"It was just a misunderstanding," Ducks netminder Ilya Bryzgalov said. "I thought the defense was going to pick up the puck, and he thought I was going to pick up the puck."