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Ducks score three power-play goals to defeat Red Wings

Oct 19, 2006 - 4:50 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The Anaheim Ducks are gradually developing one of the the league's biggest home-ice advantages.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 21 saves and Corey Perry had a goal and two assists as the Ducks capitalized on three power-play opportunites in the second period en route to a 4-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings.

Anaheim opened the season with three victories before suffering consecutive shootout losses to the New York Islanders and the Dallas Stars. However, the Ducks rebounded to raise their record to 12-1-3 in their last 16 home games dating to last season, when they set a franchise-record with 26 victories at the Honda Center.

"Home games are very important to us," Giguere said. "Obviously, the road games are much harder, so the more points we can get here at home, the better. I think we just play with confidence and we just try to do the little things. Then we have the crowd behind us."

"I try to remind everybody, we want to be homers," Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne said. "We want to play well in this building. We want to feel this whole environment. If somebody wants to take the points, they have to work hard. They have to outwork us."

The 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Giguere stopped nine shots in the first period, four in the second and was heading for his second shutout in four games before rookie Tomas Kopecky scored his first career goal with 5:36 remaining.

"I think on paper we have a very good team," Giguere said. "Great defense. Great offensive players. Lots of skill, lots of young guys, lots of speed. We know that we we've got the players here to do it, on paper. To do it on the ice is a different thing."

Kris Draper's boarding penalty opened the door for the Ducks' first tally at 8:46 of the second period, when Ryan Getzlaf took Chris Kunitz's pass from the left corner, skated to the left faceoff circle and beat goaltender Dominik Hasek with a shot inside the left goalpost.

"We had different guys step up tonight and that's what good team got to do all the time," Getzlaf said. "When one line (is) not going, the next line (has) got to pick them up. As a group tonight, we came at them at waves. We had all four lines rolling tonight."

Just 1:40 later, after Detroit defenseman Danny Markov was whistled for holding the stick, rookie blue-liner Shane O'Brien netted his first career goal with a quick wrister from the right circle that got by Hasek's right pad for a 2-0 lead.

"He's a great goalie," O'Brien said. "I watched him a lot growing up, so it's just a surreal feeling. It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's good to get two points and move forward. He's a great goalie and I was lucky enough to sneak by him."

Later in the session, while Red Wings captain Niklas Lidstrom was serving a hooking infraction, Kunitz redirected Perry's shot from the right corner between Hasek's pads for his team-leading fourth goal and a 3-0 advantage.

"We were in the box too many times," Lidstrom said. "We gave them too many scoring chances. They played well. They put the pressure on us."

Perry added his third tally in the third period for Anaheim, which killed all eight of Detroit's power-play chances and raised its record to 4-0-2.

"It was our most complete game, for sure," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We've had to deal with a new group of players, not to make excuses. We're a work in progress. We feel we can play the game at a higher level than we've been playing the game at."

A six-time Vezina Trophy winner, Hasek made 27 saves and fell to 2-2-1 for the Red Wings, who set season highs in goals allowed and shots allowed (31).

"The power play was the big difference, but overall they skated better," Hasek said. "They were the faster team. There was always someone in front of me. There were a few shots I didn't see. That's the way they scored that second goal."

"They came out flying," Detroit defenseman Mathieu Schneider added. "Nothing went our way. We were behind the eight-ball right away. We were just flat."

Selanne thought he scored his 494th career goal in the opening period. However, the tally was disallowed after video review showed the net had been dislodged for a few seconds prior to the shot.