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  Friday, Oct. 29 10:30pm ET
Kariya's line leads Ducks past Caps
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)-- Paul Kariya's post-game words Friday night will not be of any comfort to the rest of the NHL.

It definitely was not what Washington Capitals coach Ron Wilson wanted to hear.

Olaf Kolzig
Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig gave up four goals to Anaheim's No. 1 line on Friday night.
"We aren't playing the way we're capable, but we're getting better," Kariya said after helping the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory over the Capitals.

"I myself struggled with my conditioning the first five, six games, and it's been tough to get going," added Kariya, who missed the preseason with a hip injury. "We're far from 100 percent, but we're going in the right direction."

Kariya was primarily talking about his line, which also includes Teemu Selanne and center Matt Cullen.

All the threesome did Friday night was combine for 10 points, with Kariya and Selanne getting four apiece for the first time as teammates.

In two games against the Capitals, including a 7-1 victory in Washington on Oct. 19, the trio has amassed 19 points.

Far from 100 percent?

"It isn't like our club didn't know who was on the ice," said Wilson, the Mighty Ducks' original coach who now is 2-4 against his former club. "Their good guys beat us, plain and simple."

Kariya had the first and last goals, giving him five for the season, and in between added assists on scores by Selanne and Oleg Tverdovsky.

In addition to his sixth goal, Selanne picked up three assists and was the main weapon as Anaheim got off to a quick 3-0 start in the first period.

"We wanted to get off to a good start, because we knew (the Capitals) would come out desperate," said Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg.

The Capitals were in a foul mood after turning a 2-0 lead in their last game into a 5-2 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Selanne had a hand in all three first-period scores. Along with Tverdovsky, he assisted on Kariya's goal at 5:24 for a 1-0 lead.

Selanne got his sixth goal at 12:21, assisted by Cullen and Kariya, and assisted on Tverdovsky's shot that sneaked between Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig's legs for a 3-0 lead only 34 seconds before intermission.

Washington's Peter Bondra scored the only goal of the second period, a power-play goal at 1:21.

Fredrik Olausson sent a carom off Capitals left wing Steve Konowchuk's stick past Kolzig at 3:25 of the third period to put the Mighty Ducks up 4-1. Konowalchuk wrapped a shot around Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert four minutes later, before Kariya's fifth goal of the season at 8:58 made it 5-2.

"We didn't get beat as bad as the score indicates," said Konowalchuk, who felt his inadvertant assist on Olausson's goal was critical.

"We felt we were still in the game, then that shot goes off my stick into the net. We just have to correct our mistakes and work through it."

Anaheim defenseman Ruslan Salei returned from his 10-game suspension for his hit on Dallas' Mike Modano in the season opener. Salei did not start, but Hartsburg wasted no time getting him back into the mix.

Salei hit the ice only 23 seconds into the game and received a warm reception from the crowd of 13,586.

"He was certainly nervous, and as the game went along, he looked rusty," Hartsburg said. "But he was real strong on his one-on-ones. He's a good player, and I hope people realize that."

 


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 Paul Kariya puts home his second goal of the evening.
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