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Four-goal second period helps Ducks douse Flames

Feb 18, 2008 - 5:16 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The Anaheim Ducks scored four goals in the second period to overcome an early deficit and defeat the Calgary Flames, 4-2, on Sunday night.

All-Stars Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer, rookie Ryan Carter and captain Chris Pronger scored in the second period - and Chris Kunitz added two assists - for the Ducks.

Teemu Selanne became the franchise's all-time scoring leader when he assisted on Carter's goal 4:36 into the second session.

"It's a nice compliment," Selanne said. "I'm not a big stat guy. The numbers don't really mean much right now. Some day when I look back on what I achieved here, then it's going to be more special. Right now, it's not a big deal. The win was most important."

Daymond Langkow and Wayne Primeau scored for Calgary, which lost its sixth consecutive regular-season game in Anaheim.

The Ducks continued a trend of playing from behind, allowing their opponents to score first for the 40th time in 63 games. They are now 16-19-5 when giving up the first goal.

It took Anaheim just 17 seconds of the second period to tie the game as Getzlaf fired a slap shot from between the circles which beat Miikka Kiprusoff to the glove side.

"We weren't really happy with our first period," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "Anytime you can score in the first minute of a period, that leads to some strength for the rest of the period. We seemed to build off that."

"There was a turnover on the first goal and then we ran into some penalty problems from there," Calgary defenseman Robyn Regehr said. "But the second period, they came out and got that goal right off the bat in the first shift and they carried the momentum. We didn't do a good enough job coming out of our zone in the second and we played a lot of minutes in there and ended up taking penalties and giving up chances."

Niedermayer said the Ducks just wanted to work hard in the second period.

"Hockey's a funny game, sometimes you work hard and don't get rewarded, and other times you do," he said. "The trick is to keep that going every shift, and things will go your way. It paid off in the second."

Carter then scored his fourth goal in the last five games, taking a pass from Selanne and making a nifty move to score.

Selanne passed former linemate and current St. Louis Blues left wing Paul Kariya for the franchise lead. The "Finnish Flash" already holds the team record with 314 career goals.

After sitting out the first half of the season, Selanne signed a one-year contract with the defending champions on January 28. He has one goal and three assists in seven games.

Selanne said he wasn't pressing for the record.

"I didn't even think about it too much," Selanne said. "I knew it was going to come sooner or later. I'm just trying to get back in normal game shape."

"He should be proud of it, but there is pressure that goes with it to get it," Carlyle said. "The longer it extends, the more pressure builds on it. For Teemu, we think it won't take him too long to find the back of the net."

The Ducks scored twice more on power plays, after being just 3-of-35 with a man advantage in their previous 10 games.

"That relieves a lot of pressure on your offense when your power play can deliver," Carlyle said. "Tonight, they moved the puck around well and we got a couple of opportunities. Our power play hasn't had the success that's required as we look at it statistic-wise, but we think we have the personnel that if we keep working at it, we should be able to provide some offense."

Niedermayer scored on a wrist shot from the high right circle at 6:50, just nine seconds after captain Jarome Iginla entered the penalty box for cross checking.

"(Kunitz) did a great job in front on the screen," Niedermayer said. "I couldn't even see the goal, obviously (Kiprusoff) couldn't see the puck."

Pronger one-timed a slap shot at 14:41 as Regehr stepped out of the box, leaving Anaheim with a one-man advantage.

"We had a good start in the first period and played a good road period to start the game. Then we really got undressed in the second," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said.

"They came at us very hard and took advantage of their power plays. A little lopsided, I thought, six or seven to one power play opportunities including a 5-on-3, considering how physical the game was at times. They established their game in the second period and that is really the difference. ... They scored with the first shift. That first goal they scored really ignited their intensity."

The win came following a loss to Dallas on Friday to open the Ducks' season-high seven-game homestand, which follows a nine-game road trip.

"It was important to bounce back tonight with a win and look toward the next one," Niedermayer said. "We're here for a few more games. It's important that we get as many points as we can."

Langkow gave the Flames their only lead with 4:50 remaining in the first period, scoring a power-play goal. His one-timer gave him a goal in three straight games and assists by Kristian Huselius and All-Star defenseman Dion Phaneuf gave both of them assists in four straight.

Primeau scored at 1:54 of the second, beating Jean-Sebastien Giguere with a backhander.

"We just weren't good enough is the bottom line," Phaneuf said. "You can't win if you don't play a full 60 minutes - whether you start badly or have a lull in the middle. It just doesn't work in this league - and it showed again tonight."