|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Tuesday, Oct. 19 7:00pm ET
Ducks' top line buries Capitals 7-1 | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- On a night like this, the bubble-shaped face shield didn't feel so uncomfortable to Matt Cullen. Wearing the shield to protect a broken cheekbone, Cullen had a goal and three assists as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Washington Capitals 7-1 Tuesday night. "I'm still not a big fan of it, but I'm getting to like it a little better," said Cullen, sporting an ugly scar under his left eye. "I want to get that thing off as soon as I can, but you've got to make do." Cullen, who took a high stick in the face in the Ducks' 3-2 loss at Florida on Saturday, was uncertain he would even play against the Capitals. Not only did he play, he was part of a line that used its superior speed and hustle to chase down loose pucks and render the Capitals tentative and ineffective. Cullen assisted on two goals by Teemu Selanne and one by Pavel Trnka. Cullen got his goal when he put in the rebound after Paul Kariya hit the crossbar in the second period. "When you've got guys who can skate like that, you just put the puck in front of them and let them skate into it," Cullen said. "It was a fun night to be with those guys. You kind of hang around and you get your points." Mike Leclerc added two goals, one on a shot from the boards behind the net that ricocheted off goaltender Olaf Kolzig's leg. Antti Aalto converted a turnover in the Caps' defensive zone to finish off the Ducks' most prolific scoring output since a 7-2 victory at Buffalo on Jan. 1. "We used our speed, and we used it the right way," coach Craig Hartsburg said. "We worked. It wasn't just because of skill, it's how hard you work." Guy Hebert made 28 saves for the Ducks. Kolzig allowed four goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Craig Billington at the end of the second period with the score 4-0. The Capitals have yet to score the first goal in a game this season. "I didn't see this coming; no one did," Washington coach Ron Wilson said. "We played well the first games, but tonight we stunk. They sucked the energy out of us. We were lethargic." In their previous two games, the Ducks had given up early goals, and Hartsburg made the slow starts a stern talking point at practice Monday. The lecture apparently paid off as Trnka's slap shot from the blue line found space between Kolzig's legs 3:09 into the game. Kolzig appeared to be screened on the play by Selanne. "That's one thing we talked about a long time," Selanne said. "We have to start the game better." The Ducks made it 2-0 at the 12:06 mark by stretching the Capitals defensemen with three nice passes crisscrossing the ice. The third, from Cullen on the left side, found Selanne alone in front of the net for the easy goal. Leclerc extended the lead 2:47 into the second period, then Cullen scored his second goal of the season on a play that epitomized the Ducks' speed and hustle. Selanne zoomed around and past two defensemen to chase down the puck in front of the Capitals net. He couldn't get a shot off, but got the puck to Kariya. Kariya hit the bar, and Cullen deposited the easy rebound. Cullen then set up a two-on-one between Kariya and Selanne just 32 seconds into the third period, with Selanne finishing the break to make the score 5-0. Washington's Jeff Halpern avoided the shutout with his first NHL goal at 2:41 of the third, putting in his own rebound after hitting the post. "We're giving up the first 10 minutes of the game," Halpern said. "They had a little more juice than us, but that's something we can correct." | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Anaheim Clubhouse Washington Clubhouse RECAPS Anaheim 7 Washington 1 AUDIO/VIDEO   Teemu Selanne makes the nice move for the goal.avi: 615 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Matt Cullen rebound's the shot and scores.avi: 752 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||