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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Newest Duck Helps Top Hawks

Associated Press

Mike Leclerc’s NHL debut was mighty good.

Leclerc and Paul Kariya each had a goal and an assist Friday night to lead the the Anaheim Mighty Ducks past the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a pivotal game for playoff positions in the NHL’s Western Conference.

“This was way beyond my imagination. This is unbelievable,” Leclerc said. “But once you do something productive, you relax and get into the flow of things.”

Leclerc, a 20-year-old left wing recalled from Baltimore of the AHL on Thursday, made it 4-2 with his first NHL goal at 8:03 of the third period. He also assisted on the Ducks’ second goal.

Anaheim has a 75-72 lead in points over Chicago and moved into sixth place in the Western Conference. Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne, the NHL’s No. 2 scorer, missed his third straight game with a strained muscle in his left side.

Larry Murphy scored 3:10 into overtime, giving the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the slumping Buffalo Sabres.

Murphy’s winning goal came on a shot from the right point just inside the blue line. It deflected off goalie Steve Shields’ right pad and went between his legs, extending Detroit’s home unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1). Shields stopped 39 shots, but Buffalo still fell to 1-4 since All-Star goalie Dominik Hasek suffered a broken rib.