Ducks get to laugh a little

The Ducks played two-on-two hockey with the wrong ends of their sticks for part of practice Tuesday, a bit of earnest silliness a day after a shootout victory over Calgary for their second win in three games.

"You can't always be doom and gloom when you come to work," Coach Randy Carlyle said. "When you don't have the success that you feel you're capable of, then you're always trying to push for more. You're criticizing and analyzing, and all that stuff can be draining on you.

"When you have some success, you've got to lighten it up and feel good about yourself."

Teemu Selanne added to the lighthearted air when he talked about the seemingly unlikely pairing of him and Saku Koivu with hulking 6-foot-5 bruiser Evgeny Artyukhin -- a combination it turns out Selanne requested.

"I have never seen that fast guy in my life. He's 260 pounds and he's machine, you know," Selanne said. "I guess there's a lot of things he has to learn, but he has all the tools.

"I call him Mr. Incredible. He doesn't even know how fast and strong he is. He's one of those guys that touch something and he breaks it.... I try to teach him little things because he can be really, really good."

But the biggest reason for the Ducks' optimism might be the suddenly sharp play of goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who said goalie consultant Pete Peeters encouraged him to be more aggressive in coming out of the net to challenge opponents.

"Sometimes you forget when you're in a slump, and you need to be reminded," said Giguere, who is expected to get a second consecutive start Wednesday against Carolina after the win.

-- Robyn Norwood

Ducks-Sharks: Ducks & Sharks tied at 2-2 after second period

The Ducks began and ended the second period on a high note.

Sharks winger Dany Heatley was called for tripping at the end of the first period, meaning the Ducks opened the second with a power play.

At 1:20, Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski rifled a shot from the blue line past Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov for the 1-0 lead.

At 19:46, defenseman Ryan Whitney scored on a 5-on-3 power play to tie it up at 2-2.

It brought closure to quite an eventful second period.

After Wisniewski's goal, both teams fired several shots over the next few minutes that were deflected, including one fired by Sharks defenseman Kent Huskins that hit the referee at 3:52. San Jose eventually answered with winger Ryan Clowe firing a long-distance shot at 8:08 to tie the game at 1-1.

Whitney was then called for a cross-checking penalty at 10:12 and the Sharks' top line featuring Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau made the Ducks pay just like Philadelphia did the night before with the three combining for eight points.

Heatley, who entered tonight's game with a league-leading 17 goals, scored on a power-play goal off a pass from Thornton at 10:54 for the 2-1 lead.

But then Huskins was called for holding at 18:55 and Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray was called for interference at 19:46. Ducks winger Corey Perry nearly scored on the power play but Nabokov stopped him at the doorstep. Off a rebound, the puck went to the near side to Whitney, who nullified his penalty with a goal.

The Ducks will enter the third period on with 1:38 remaining on the power play.

-- Mark Medina

Ducks: Ryan Carter expected to be out an additional four weeks

 

Ducks center Ryan Carter is expected to miss an additional four weeks after a second X-ray revealed a fracture in his right foot, the team announced.

Carter hasn't been on the ice since a Nov. 12 practice where he was hit by a shot from defenseman Ryan Whitney. Coach Randy Carlyle had suggested this week that Carter's injury appeared to be more serious than initially indicated.

The team cited a "lack of improvement" in his injury that spurred Carter to have the second X-ray taken.

-- Mark Medina

Photo: Ducks center Ryan Carter is congratulated by teammate Mike Brown after scoring in a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 14. Credit: Francis Specker / Associated Press

Ducks still keeping their eyes on injuries

There were very few answers Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle provided after this morning's skate regarding who will suit up in tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks. And this time, it didn't involve goaltenders Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Carlyle considers the status of center Saku Koivu (groin muscle), defenseman James Wisniewski (bruised foot) and defenseman Steve Eminger (back spasms) as "warm-up decisions." Carlyle deems winger Joffrey Lupul (tightness in his lower body) to be "probably doubtful," but still kept open the possibility he could play. The only definitive answer is that center Ryan Carter (bruised foot) will sit out his fifth consecutive game.

Regardless of who shows up on the ice tonight, it's fair to say there will be missing parts.

George Parros blog: the thrill of victory, and lessons learned in the Ivy League...

Ahhhh sweet victory! I come to the blog-reader faithful with tales from the victor's locker room. I can't describe how nice it was to break our losing streak against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at Honda Center. Maybe that is why I chose to blog later in the week because I could feel the win coming.

Honestly, it had to happen at some point. We have so much talent on our team and we all knew we were underachieving. A popular phrase that we have around the locker room is, "Don't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows." With that in mind, we were not a rambunctious group after the game but definitely a relieved one, already focusing on our next game and hoping to repeat the night's events and get some momentum going in the right direction.

Aside from winning, the game versus the Lightning was a fun one for me and some of the other guys as well.  Personally, it was fun to play against a friend of mine and fellow Princeton alumni, Jeff Halpern. There are not too many of us that make it to this level beyond the Hobey Baker Arena so it is always fun to play against a former Tiger, even though that punk scored against us and made the game a bit more interesting than we would have liked. I had a few choice words for Jeff out there and in turn he was yelling at me for cycling the puck past him while in the offensive zone.

 This game was also a special one for my linemate, MacGregor Sharp, as it was his first NHL game. There are few better feelings than playing in your first NHL contest and I was really excited for him and enjoyed being his linemate for that experience. Unfortunately for Sharpy, he lost the linemate lottery and played on my line, which tends to reduce a player's chances of recording a point. I think he will be around for a bit so we are going to work on that, though.

 It was also a big night for Evgeny Artyukhin, who was playing against his old team for the first time, which usually proves to be a weird experience. It's tough to play against all of your old friends and former teammates, but trust me -- it is a sweet moment when you can score against them and shove it in their face. Usually there are many reminders in the room before the game about how "they didn't want you" and jabs along those lines.  It makes for fun banter and hopefully lights a fire under that player. With Arty it was no exception: He made some great plays and had a huge hit.

I imagine this posting will come out right before or possibly after our game against San Jose. I can only hope that we build on our most recent success and put on a good show for the Honda Center crowd. I guess you'll have to check in next week to see if I ate humble pie or can claim Nostradamus status.

-- George Parros

Ducks' Scott Niedermayer talks about the fight over his hockey stick

It is a wonderful fan-friendly gesture in the NHL. The "three stars" of the game are announced to the crowd and those stars often skate over and hand their hockey sticks over the glass to lucky fans.

That is what the Ducks' Scott Niedermayer did after Thursday night's overtime win. He started to hand it to the a little girl and a nearby fan grabbed it -- or tried to. Watch the video of the fight that resulted.

At practice today, Niedermayer talked about what happened.

Niedermayer's own reaction?

"I'm sure it was the same as anybody’s. I was surprised. I couldn’t really tell exactly how it all happened. I put the stick over. Obviously it’s on video and everybody is getting their look at it all day long. These things happen. ... Maybe not over a stick, but there’s disagreements in the stands. This isn’t the first one.

"I saw a little girl there. I went over and wanted to give it to her. The glass is pretty high so I was trying to get it over. It’s not the easiest thing to do. ... I probably could’ve done a better job with that."

Stay tuned to latimes.com/sports for more coverage on the stick incident.

-- Mark Medina

A stick-y situation among Duck fans in Anaheim [UPDATED]

A fight broke out last night in Anaheim over Scott Niedermayer's stick. Relax, Duck fans, it was not in his possession during the brawl.

After Niedermayer scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give his team a 4-3 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning, he tossed his stick to a little girl in the stands. When a man tried to grab the stick intended for the little girl, fans intervened and a brawl ensued.

Niedermayer watched the battle helplessly. "It was for the little girl," Niedermayer said.

[Updated at 12:07 p.m.: The Anaheim Ducks said today in a statement, “Following the incident last night, the Anaheim Police Department questioned the individuals involved and filed a police report. The Ducks cannot comment on any further action that may be taken at this time. As an organization, we do not condone or tolerate this type of behavior, and will treat this case accordingly.”]

-- Melissa Rohlin

Ducks win 4-3 in overtime

Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer scored the game-winning goal at :52 to give the Ducks a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay in overtime.

Stay tuned for more Ducks coverage.

--Mark Medina

Ducks-Lightning: Ducks tied 3-3 after three periods

The Lightning outscored the Ducks 2-1 in the past two periods to force overtime after three.

The lone score in the third period happened at 1:38 when Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis scored near the top of the blue line to tie it 3-3.

--Mark Medina

Ducks-Lightning: Ducks lead, 3-2, after second period

The Ducks appeared to be running away with the lead and the win.

Winger Bobby Ryan converted on a power-play goal at 6:52 that gave the Ducks a three-goal lead, moments after David Hale's high stick opened a wound above his right eye that later required stitches.

But then the Tampa Bay Lightning staved off the momentum, leaving the Ducks with a 3-2 lead after two periods.

Soon after Ryan's power-play goal, the Lightning seemed to catch the Ducks off guard as center Jeff Halpern sneaked in a goal at 7:23 to make it 3-1.

Lightning center Steven Stamkos scored 18 seconds later on a play that required a few extra viewings. After his shot bounced off the chest of Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, Stamkos managed to nip the puck with his stick past Hiller's right shoulder as Stamkos fell to the ground.

The Ducks tried answering on a power play when Andrej Meszaros was called for high-sticking at 11:23, but to no avail. They didn't take advantage of Kurtis Foster's tripping penalty at 14:49, either. The Ducks are 2-of-6 overall on the power play.

Note: After blocking a shot from Tampa Bay center Paul Szczechura at 8:41 in the first period, Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski left the ice because of a bruised right foot. X-rays were negative, but he did not return. Defenseman Steve Eminger was scratched because of back spasms.

-- Mark Medina

Photo: Ducks' Bobby Ryan shoots and scores against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period yesterday in Anaheim. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press.