Sacco’s 2 Goals, Speed Help Ducks Stop Flyers

Joe Sacco can skate like the wind. But like the wind that blows, Sacco has sometimes blown his chances.

He hasn’t missed many opportunities lately. Sacco scored two goals for the second consecutive game Wednesday and added two assists as the Mighty Ducks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3, before a sellout crowd of 17,174 at Anaheim Arena.

“It’s nice to see Joe score on some of his chances, because his speed creates so many,� Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “Joe’s been playing great since he got wind of the Olympics.�

Sacco played for the U.S. Olympic team himself in 1992 along with Duck teammates Tim Sweeney and Sean Hill. Now it is his brother David’s turn.

“I hope he can get a couple for the U.S. (today) against Canada,� Sacco said.

Sacco, who also scored twice in a victory at Edmonton Sunday, broke open a 3-2 game with two third-period goals.

On his first, he took a shot from the right wing and swooped in for the rebound after Dominic Roussel stopped the shot with his pads. Sacco pounced on it and lifted the puck high to score at 1:24 of the third.

His speed was the key to the second, and he lifted it high, too, for his 11th goal of the season and his sixth in six games.

“You give a guy with Joe’s speed and talent consistent chances and he’s going to score,� said captain Troy Loney, who skated with Sacco on a line centered by Shaun Van Allen that contributed four goals. Van Allen had three points on a goal and two assists.

“(Sacco) was snakebit earlier,� Loney said. “He was hitting posts and things. But his speed opens up so much for all of us, even when he doesn’t score.�

With little fanfare, the Ducks reached a milestone. Their 23rd victory matched Tampa Bay’s season-victory total in the Lightning’s first season last year. That mark was the best by a recent expansion team until Florida (25-21-10) surpassed it last week. Now the Panthers and Ducks are chasing the 31-32-11 mark by the 1967-68 Flyers, who had the best first-year record in NHL history.

The Ducks jumped ahead of the weary Flyers early and led, 2-0, only 4:26 into the game after goals by Van Allen and Bob Corkum.

Corkum, 26, started the season as the team’s checking center but his goal made him the first Duck to reach 20 goals. He now has twice as many goals this season as he did in his NHL career, which consisted of 96 games with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Flyers, who have an ugly 2-9-1 record since the All-Star break, were not playing well but got a goal back three minutes into the second period on Eric Lindros’ power-play goal on a shot from high in the slot.

The Ducks made it 3-1 at 6:45 when defenseman Alexei Kasatonov took the puck off the boards and skated across the slot for a slap shot. The goal was his fourth of the season, and his first since Dec. 12 against St. Louis.

But only 20 seconds later, the lead was back to one. Mikael Renberg took a pass from Dimitri Yushkevich and put the puck in from right in front of the net. The goal was reviewed, but stood, and Renberg took over the rookie goal-scoring lead from Ottawa’s Alexei Yashin with his 26th goal.