Defense Continues to Play Offensively

The Mighty Ducks may not have a group of well-known defensemen but when it comes to getting the job done on both ends of the ice, their blue-liners are not taking a backseat to anyone this season.

Not only are they shutting down offenses, the Duck defensemen are scoring. Led by Niclas Havelid’s two goals, they accounted for three points in Anaheim’s 4-0 victory over Phoenix on Sunday night at the Arrowhead Pond.

“[Keith Carney is] generating offense for us; Havelid is generating offense for us; [Pavel] Trnka, in his few number of games, is generating offense for us; and [Ruslan] Salei generates more goals than he does offense. And Freddy [Olausson] is here to be the offensive guy,” said Duck Coach Mike Babcock, whose team is tied for sixth in the league in goals allowed with 81.

“You look at it that way, we’re getting good defense and offense from our D. That’s the idea, everyone plays offense and everyone plays defense.”

With more than a month to go before the NHL All-Star break, the Ducks’ defensemen have combined for 17 goals and 53 points, compared to 23 and 101 all of last season.

“Defensively, we’re playing well as a team,” Carney said. “Everyone is working hard and you have the puck a lot more than the other teams.”

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Defenseman Mike Commodore, who was recalled from minor league Cincinnati on Saturday, did not play.... Sunday’s victory over Phoenix was Anaheim’s first against a Pacific Division opponent this season (1-5-2).