Ducks Finally Realizing Potential

Matt Cullen paused in mid-sentence for a quick calculation.

“I’ve been here ... this is my sixth year, and this is the fifth head coach we’ve had,� the Mighty Duck center said. “Obviously, there’s a transition. It’s a matter of getting used to the coach and getting used to the guys you’re playing with. But I think we’re starting to turn the switch on and understand what we can do.

“I think we’re starting to expect to win and we don’t accept the fact of losing. It comes with being a better team.�

The Ducks hit .500 (6-6-3-0) Sunday with a 1-0 victory over West-leading Minnesota, extending their winning streak to three and surge to 4-1-1. It’s modest, but it includes victories at Boston and Colorado and at home against the Wild. Besides, the last time the Ducks were at .500 last season was at 1-1, and the season went steadily downhill from there.

Since then, they’ve changed coaches, from Bryan Murray to Mike Babcock, and general managers, from Pierre Gauthier to Murray. Their roster has been overhauled, as Murray jettisoned a dozen players who were mostly dead weight. For stability “and to show the guys here we care about the present� he acquired veterans Adam Oates, Petr Sykora and Fredrik Olausson. Looking ahead, he accelerated the progress of youngsters Stanislav Chistov and Kurt Sauer, who have exceeded his hopes.

“We’re quicker and we’ve got three lines with the potential to score goals,� Murray said. “Last year, we were very, very limited to Paul [Kariya] and maybe a supporting cast of Mike Leclerc and Matt Cullen, and that was it. The team is structured now to be more competitive on the road, but still, every game sits in the balance until the last minute. That’s the kind of club we are right now. We’ve improved our speed and skill but, like a lot of teams in this league, we don’t score very easily.�

Earning a playoff berth will be tough, but the Ducks are giving themselves chances to win with tenacity, speed, and solid goaltending. They’re within easy reach of the top eight as they start a five-game trip today at New Jersey. And remember, it was around this time last year that the Ducks, then 6-9-3, left for a six-game trip and came home a dispirited 1-5, collapsing after Keith Carney and Steve Rucchin got hurt and falling out of playoff contention by Thanksgiving.

That won’t happen again, Kariya said.

“We’re a much better team this year,� he said. “If you look at the talent level, it’s night and day. We’re playing better hockey and doing all the little things right.... It took us a little while to get going, but we’ve got it going pretty good. We just have to keep working.�

Said goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, “Now we realize we’re a good team, and we can compete against any team in this league.�

After this trip, the Ducks will have played 13 of their first 20 games on the road, and must then build a home-ice mystique.

“Every time you go on the road, you think it would be nice to come home .500,� he said. “That’s the dream. For me, right now, just play hard, play well, be prepared, and pay a price. And if we do that, we’ll win some of the games on the road.�

No Blues for the Blues

Injuries that should have decimated the St. Louis Blues instead seem to have made them stronger.

Despite losing top goalie Brent Johnson to a sprained ankle before training camp, backup Reinhard Divis to a groin strain, defenseman Chris Pronger to a second round of wrist surgery and forward Keith Tkachuk to a fractured foot Oct. 30, the Blues lost only two of their first 13 games. At one point, they won four in a row with different goalies -- Divis, minor league recalls Curtis Sanford and Cory Rudkowski and veteran Fred Brathwaite -- and won nine in a row overall.

“It’s a credit to our system and the attitude in this room,� said center Doug Weight, who has a 10-game point-scoring streak. “Two of the best players in the world [Pronger and Tkachuk] are out of the lineup but we’re resilient and we believe in ourselves and our system. We’re working harder each game, and that’s a great sign.�

They’ve gotten a lift from forwards Eric Boguniecki (eight goals and 14 points in 12 games) and Petr Cajanek (two goals, 11 points in 13 games), who add much-needed speed. Signing free-agent winger Martin Rucinsky Oct. 30 was a shrewd move too, because he brings skills and smarts.

Another key is the development of 21-year-old defenseman Barret Jackman. He’s rarely out of position and reads plays well, meaning he can play crucial minutes and ease the burden on Al MacInnis and Pronger.

“The kid is poised, real solid,� Coach Joel Quenneville said. “He looks like he’s been around a lot longer than [15] games.�

General Manager Larry Pleau deserves credit for doing more than filling holes.

“During training camp, our young kids had a chance to play a lot of games, and as it turned out, that’s helped us out,� said Pleau, who last week signed veteran goalie Tom Barrasso as insurance. “Guys have really pulled together. The goalie thing was the first thing that helped pull us together. The thing I like is, we’ve played well as a team, and that’s something we didn’t do last year.�

Said Boguniecki, “It doesn’t get any better than this. When you’re winning, it’s fun. We know what it feels like, and we don’t want to feel anything else.�

The First 1,000 Are the Toughest

Philadelphia Flyer center Jeremy Roenick is nearing two milestones: He’s scheduled Saturday to play in his 1,000th NHL game, and he’s seven assists from 600.

But to the 32-year-old center, that’s trivia.

“The milestone that I need is the Stanley Cup,� said Roenick, who came close in 1990-91, when he and the Chicago Blackhawks lost the finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. “The goals and the games and the assists, they’re all wonderful and all, but I think everybody is going to judge me now on that championship, rather than how many goals and how many assists I have.�

Roenick might get a shot with the Flyers. Roenick said Coach Ken Hitchcock, who gained a reputation in Dallas for favoring defense, has installed a 1-2-2 forecheck and insists on a high tempo, which promotes scoring.

“I don’t think his system is much different than a lot of other systems, but Hitch just takes things to the bitter, bitter ultimate detail of everything and everywhere,� Roenick said. “He’ll even tell you which way your skates should be pointed in neutral ice when checking somebody. It’s a lot to have to absorb, so you have to always be mentally aware of what’s going on around you.�

Here and There

The Colorado Avalanche remains a puzzle. All that talent should produce more than an 0-4-3-1 home record, a league-worst 9.8% power-play success at home and a near-worst 11.4% power play overall. General Manager Pierre Lacroix hasn’t hesitated to shake things up via trades, but it’s tough to deal from weakness. Think he regrets trading Chris Drury now?

After starting strong and then losing three straight, the Tampa Bay Lightning earned respect by refusing to fade away. “We feel like we kind of gave those games away a little bit, not so much by what the other team did, but what we did in the last three minutes,� winger Martin St. Louis said. “There’s no panic here. Everybody in the locker room feels very strong that we have what we need to get back on track.�

Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe is unhappy about sitting while Kevin Weekes gets most of the playing time. But the Hurricanes won’t deal Irbe until they’re sure Weekes can be consistent.... The Florida Panthers reportedly are willing to move Viktor Kozlov and Dmitry Yuskevitch. They like New York Islander forward Brad Isbister, but so do a lot of other teams.

Atlanta Coach Curt Fraser has dodged the ax for a few weeks, but he might lose his job before the end of the six-game home stand the Thrashers began Monday. Fraser’s main fault is, he can’t get Ilya Kovalchuk to improve defensively. Talent like Kovalchuk’s is rare; coaches aren’t. Former Duck and Washington coach Ron Wilson is rumored to be among the potential replacements.

Maple Leaf Coach-General Manager Pat Quinn told Toronto reporters last weekend he’s ready to shake things up with a trade. “The trigger hasn’t been set, but believe me, if I could do something that would make sense, I would do it,� he said.