Blue Liner Helps Light Red Light

The Ducks have never gotten much scoring from their defensemen, but Dmitri Mironov is changing that. Quietly but steadily, he keeps putting up points.

The franchise record for points by a defenseman--39 by Bill Houlder during the 1993-94 season--almost certainly will belong to Mironov by season’s end.

Acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh on Nov. 19, Mironov has 31 points overall, 25 with the Ducks.

Further, he has not been the defensive liability his reputation suggested, instead recording a plus-17 rating since joining the Ducks.

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Coach Ron Wilson, on the Ducks’ 6-3 victory against Hartford on Friday: “The first 15 minutes, we played as well as we have all season. Our forechecking was aggressive and created great chances. I thought the score could have been higher than it was.”