Kariya Keeps Ducks Alive

NHL playoffs

As they have been all year, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne were what the Anaheim Mighty Ducks needed for victory.

Kariya’s goal at 7:29 of overtime gave Anaheim a 3-2 win over Phoenix on Sunday to send the Western Conference quarterfinal series to a seventh game.

Selanne flipped a pass over the neutral zone to Kariya, who beat Nikolai Khabibulin with a wrist shot into the opposite corner of the net. Phoenix defenseman Gerald Diduck followed Kariya but couldn’t catch up because Selanne’s pass was perfect.

“It wound up on my stick, and I released it as quickly as possible,” Kariya said.

“We practice that all the time,” Selanne said. “I’ve reached him many times where he gets the puck, but not where he doesn’t have to do anything. It was lucky - the timing was perfect. There’s always some luck involved.”

Kariya and Selanne combined for 208 points as the NHL’s second- and third-highest scorers this season.

Kariya and Brian Bellows had goals in the second period to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead, but the Coyotes - like the Ducks also in their first playoff series - tied it on scores in the third by Darrin Shannon and Keith Tkachuk.

Phoenix snapped the Ducks’ 16-game home unbeaten string last week and must win again in Anaheim on Tuesday, possibly without high-scoring center Jeremy Roenick, who injured his left knee in a collision with Anaheim’s Ted Drury midway through the second period.

Anaheim 0 2 0 1 - 3

Phoenix 0 0 2 0 - 2

First period-None.

Second period-1, Anaheim, Kariya 4 (Kurri, Mironov), 6:12 (pp). 2, Anaheim, Bellows 1 (Mironov), 19:01.

Third period-3, Phoenix, Shannon 3 (Ronning, Gartner), 9:00. 4, Phoenix, Tkachuk 6 (Janney, Quint), 17:44 (pp).

Overtime-5, Anaheim, Kariya 5 (Selanne, Rucchin), 7:29.

Shots on goal-Anaheim 11-16-5-7-39. Phoenix 8-6-5-2-21.Power-play opp.-Anaheim 1 of 4; Phoenix 1 of 5.Goalies-Anaheim, Hebert 3-3 (21 shots-19 saves). Phoenix, Khabibulin 3-3 (39-36).A-16,210 (16,210).

Red Wings 3, Blues 1 St. Louis

Power-play goals from Viacheslav Kozlov and Brendan Shanahan were the difference as Detroit wrapped up its first-round playoff series in six games.

The Red Wings were 2 for 7 with the man advantage and ended the series with six power-play goals after getting shut out the first two games on 14 chances. Kirk Maltby added a third-period goal for Detroit, the third seed in the Western Conference, which needed seven games to eliminate St. Louis in the second round last season.

While the Red Wings continue their quest for their first Stanley Cup since 1955, the Blues haven’t made it past the second round since 1986.

The Blues hastened their demise with ill-timed penalties, including three high-sticking calls, and puny offense. Mike Vernon faced only 11 shots in the first two periods, and 25 overall. In five power plays, the Blues managed one shot.

Detroit 1 1 1 - 3

St. Louis 1 0 0 - 1

First period-1, St. Louis, Hull 2, 2:12. 2, Detroit, Kozlov 2 (Fedorov, Larionov), 8:45 (pp).

Second period-3, Detroit, Shanahan 3 (Sandstrom, L.Murphy), 1:07 (pp).

Third period-4, Detroit, Maltby 1 (McCarty), 8:24.

Shots on goal-Detroit 6-14-10-30. St. Louis 5-6-14-25.Power-play opp.-Detroit 2 of 7; St. Louis 0 of 5.Goalies-Detroit, Vernon 4-2 (25 shots-24 saves). St. Louis, Fuhr 2-4 (30-27).A-19,257 (19,260).

Stars 3 Oilers 2 Edmonton, Alberta

Mike Modano scored at 14:42 of the third period after running the Edmonton defense ragged to lift Dallas to a seventh and deciding game of their Western Conference playoff series.

With each team playing a man short, Modano stripped the puck from Edmonton defenseman Luke Richardson in the Oilers’ zone and skated circles around his opponents as he revved up.

The speedy center skated up to the blueline and tore up the middle of the ice, ripping a shot that deflected off Oilers’ center Doug Weight’s stick and past goalie Curtis Joseph.

The Oilers had hoped to eliminate the highly favored Stars on home ice.

The Stars held a wide edge in play during the first period but the teams were tied after 20 minutes in front of a frantic sellout crowd of 17,099, watching the Oilers in the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

Dallas 1 1 1 - 3

Edmonton 1 1 0 - 2

First period-1, Dallas, Lehtinen 2 (Gilchrist, Moog), 3:49. 2, Edmonton, Grier 3 (Buchberger, Lindgren), 13:25.

Second period-3, Dallas, Bassen 2 (Verbeek, Ludwig), 14:33. 4, Edmonton, Czerkawski 2 (Lindgren), 19:42.

Third period-5, Dallas, Modano 4 (Lehtinen, Hatcher), 14:42.

Shots on goal-Dallas 18-11-12-41. Edmonton 7-15-13-35. Power-play opp.-Dallas 0 of 6; Edmonton 0 of 6.Goalies-Dallas, Moog 3-3 (35 shots-33 saves). Edmonton, Joseph 3-3 (41-38).A-17,099 (17,099).

Sabres 3, Senators 0 Kanata, Ontario

Buffalo backup goalie Steve Shields, replacing injured star Dominik Hasek, recorded his first NHL shutout as the Sabres forced a seventh game in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. It will be Tuesday in Buffalo.

Shields, who entered the third game when Hasek sustained a knee sprain, made his third straight start and stopped 31 shots.

Buffalo 1 1 1 - 3

Ottawa 0 0 0 - 0

First period-1, Buffalo, Holzinger 2 (Audette, Shannon), 3:25.

Second period-2, Buffalo, Zhitnik 1 (Grosek, Barnaby), 7:46.

Third period-3, Buffalo, Dawe 1 (Peca, Ward), 15:44.

Shots on goal-Buffalo 8-6-7-21. Ottawa 9-14-8-31.Power-play opp.- Buffalo 0 of 5; Ottawa 0 of 6.Goalies-Buffalo, Shields 2-2 (31 shots-31 saves). Ottawa, Tugnutt 3-3 (21-18).A-18,500 (18,500).