Ducks Win Again - This Time in OT

With hard work and fast skating, the Anaheim Ducks have gone 15 games into the season without losing in regulation. <br/><br/>Still, they're far from satisfied _ and that's one reason they've

Tuesday, November 7th 2006, 5:22 am

By: News On 6

With hard work and fast skating, the Anaheim Ducks have gone 15 games into the season without losing in regulation.

Still, they're far from satisfied _ and that's one reason they've been so successful.

Teemu Selanne scored a power-play goal 44 seconds into overtime after drawing a tripping penalty from Noah Welch, and Anaheim extended its big start with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

By earning at least one point in each of their first 15 games, the Ducks (11-0-4) tied the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers for the most consecutive games without a loss in regulation to start a season.

``We have to be commended for the work ethic that we put in night in and night out,'' coach Randy Carlyle said. ``We're not perfect by any means. There are flaws we have to correct, period to period and game to game. But overall, our work ethic has been strong, and it's the strongest trait of our group.''

Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who outshot Pittsburgh 40-17 while improving the best record in the NHL.

``The games that we lost in overtime or a shootout, they feel like losses,'' Selanne said. ``I mean, we got the one point out of those games, but we weren't really happy about it because we knew there were two points available. And I think that maybe the reason for this streak is that we really considered those games as losses _ and then we bounced back. That's a good sign.''

In other NHL games, it was: Atlanta 5, Boston 3; Washington 4, Ottawa 3 in OT; Toronto 4, Philadelphia 1; Tampa Bay 5, the New York Islanders 1; and Vancouver 2, Dallas 1.

Dominic Moore and Chris Thorburn scored first-period goals for the Penguins, who concluded a four-game road trip with their second straight loss following a five-game winning streak. Sidney Crosby did not have a shot on net for the third consecutive game.

``I'd definitely like to get more pucks to the net, but I'm not going to sit here and worry about it too much,'' Crosby said. ``Obviously, you want to get shots, but I think I've passed up a couple to try to make a play and I don't regret that. When I think it's time to shoot, I'm going to shoot.''

Selanne had plenty of open ice to maneuver with the teams skating 4-on-3 in overtime, and he got in perfect position to redirect Scott Niedermayer's centering pass from the right circle. It was Selanne's 44th game-winning goal with the Ducks, tying Paul Kariya's franchise record.

``There's a reason they haven't lost in regulation,'' said Pittsburgh goalie Jocelyn Thibault, who made his first start since Jan. 6 following hip surgery. ``They create a lot of power plays and they skate so fast.''

The Penguins played without defenseman Mark Eaton, who dislocated his left wrist just 63 seconds into Saturday's 3-2 loss at San Jose and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Capitals 4, Senators 3, OT

At Washington, Alex Ovechkin scored twice to help the Capitals overcome an early three-goal deficit, and Chris Clark netted the winner in overtime.

Ovechkin scored a power-play goal with 24.4 seconds left in regulation to tie it. Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips was whistled for tripping with 1:03 to play and the visitors clinging to a 3-2 lead. Clark then scored 1:33 into the extra period off an assist from Alexander Semin, who also assisted on both of Ovechkin's goals.

Ottawa led 3-0 less than 12 minutes into the game, chasing Washington goalie Olie Kolzig after only five shots. He was replaced by backup Brent Johnson, who stopped all 21 shots he faced.

Daniel Alfredsson, Antoine Vermette and Dany Heatley scored for the Senators, who have lost four straight. Ottawa's unbeaten streak at Washington ended after eight games, dating to the 2001-02 season.

Thrashers 5, Bruins 3

At Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk scored three power-play goals on blistering shots, and Johan Hedberg won his third straight start. Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa also scored for the Thrashers, who have won three straight. It was Kovalchuk's second hat trick this season.

Lightning 5, Islanders 1

At Uniondale, N.Y., childhood friends Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin teamed up for the tiebreaking power-play goal in the second period that sent Tampa Bay to a slump-busting victory.

Perrin added another goal in the third and Filip Kuba scored twice as the Lightning scored five times for the third straight game.

St. Louis stretched his point streak to nine games when he fired in a hard shot off a feed from Perrin.

Vincent Lecavalier got the other assist, giving him points in nine straight games, too.

Maple Leafs 4, Flyers 1

At Toronto, Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Tomas Kaberle scored in the third period to lead the Maple Leafs past sagging Philadelphia. Andrew Raycroft made 40 saves and Bates Battaglia also had a goal for Toronto, which has won five of six.

The Flyers dropped to 3-10-1 _ the worst start in the club's 40-year history and the poorest record in the NHL. Philadelphia has lost four of six since coach Ken Hitchcock was fired and Bobby Clarke resigned as general manager on Oct. 22.

Canucks 2, Stars 1

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Taylor Pyatt scored a power-play goal with 44.7 seconds left in the third period to lift the Canucks.

Roberto Luongo made 19 saves and Kevin Bieksa scored from center ice, helping Vancouver snap a three-game skid. Eric Lindros scored for the Stars, who dropped to 11-3.