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Second-period eruption powers Wild

Dec 15, 2007 - 7:41 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Wild had too much power for the emotionally drained Anaheim Ducks.

Marian Gaborik started a string of four straight power-play goals in the second period as the Wild cruised to a 5-2 triumph over the Ducks on Friday.

Brian Rolston scored a goal and set up two others and Aaron Voros and defenseman Brent Burns each added a tally and an assist for Minnesota, which went 4-for-6 with the man advantage.

"We had better control," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "We had a couple of lucky goals. I felt we got the right shot at the right time and got a couple of breaks, and pucks were going in.

"Some nights you make better plays, the goalie is great and you still can't score, or you are going to miss the open net and that's the way it is. Tonight, I don't know why it clicked so much."

Brad May and Todd Bertuzzi netted goals for the Ducks, who earlier in the day traded Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues for a package that included veteran Doug Weight.

"I think it has some sort of effect on your emotions," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "When you lose a teammate, the first day is usually the toughest one. McDonald played a lot of hockey for this organization. He made a huge contribution to the success that we had. ... I think it had something to do with it, but I wouldn't consider that the sole reasoning behind the outcome."

McDonald undoubtedly will be missed in the Ducks' locker room.

"It's not a fun time when guys get traded," Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "He has been my roommate for the last two years, and we've been here eight years together. He was a personal friend."

"We wish Andy the best of luck in St. Louis," Ducks center Todd Marchant added. "He was a big part of us winning last year. That will never be forgotten. ... It's not an easy situation, but you have to move on."

Already ahead, 1-0, on Voros' first-period tally, the Wild lived up to their name in the middle session. Gaborik and Eric Belanger scored man-advantage goals 73 seconds apart early in the period, while Rolston and Burns tallied in a 64-second span late to provide a five-goal cushion.

After Chris Kunitz received a double-minor for high-sticking, Gaborik used defenseman Francois Beauchemin as a screen and snapped the puck over the left shoulder of Giguere from the right faceoff circle at 5:02. The goal extended the Slovakian's points streak to six games.

With Kunitz still in the penalty box, Belanger unleashed a wrist shot from the left circle that hit Giguere and the left goalpost before caroming back off the netminder and trickling in at 6:15 for a 3-0 bulge.

"We know our power play can be good when we play with a lot of confidence, and we showed that tonight," Belanger said. "We made the right plays, and when you make them pay on their PK, it's tough for them to come back in the game."

"We just didn't play well," Giguere said. "I personally didn't play well. I try to give my team a chance to win, and tonight I didn't do that."

Carlyle replaced Giguere with Jonas Hiller, but Minnesota also victimized the Swiss goalie in quick fashion.

Following penalties to tough guy George Parros and defenseman Sean O'Donnell, Rolston beat Hiller with a one-timer from above the left circle with 4:54 remaining in the period for a 5-on-3 tally.

"(Pierre-Marc) Bouchard just slid one back to me and I gave it a one-timer," Rolston said. "It was a good screen in front and it went in for me."

Shortly thereafter, Burns converted a cross-crease pass from Voros during a 2-on-1 rush to cap the power-play outburst.

The four man-advantage tallies in one period by the Wild was a franchise record.

"There must have been a full moon," Rolston joked. "It was great. We came through on the power play, there's no question."

The success was surprising, considering the club has been ravaged by the flu.

"You always hear that quote, 'Guys always play their best games when they're sick,'" Rolston said. "That must be a cliche, but it must be a cliche for a reason."

"That was huge for us, especially with five guys out with the flu the last couple of days," Voros added. "We came up with a big team win, and that's what we needed."

Defenseman Kim Johnsson collected two assists and Josh Harding made 28 saves for Minnesota, which scored more than two goals for the first time in six games.

"We're not looking at any negatives right now," said Harding, who came within 6:25 of a shutout. "We just came into Anaheim and beat a great team. It's all positive right now."

Giguere yielded three goals on nine shots and Hiller made eight saves for the Ducks, who have lost three of four.

"I think we lacked emotion, lacked intensity and we didn't get the goaltending that was necessary to have success," Carlyle said. "I didn't think our forecheck was strong enough. I didn't think our penalty-killing was good enough. There were a number of things that you can point to that we just weren't good enough in."