Duck Duo Remains on a Roll

BOSTON â€”  It’s not simple. It’s not effortless. It only looks that way when Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne work their offensive magic as they have the last two weeks.

Kariya and Selanne each scored twice and had two assists Monday in the Mighty Ducks’ 4-2 victory against the overmatched Boston Bruins at the FleetCenter.

Ho-hum. So what else is new?

At the moment, there is no hotter one-two punch in the NHL than Kariya and Selanne.

Kariya has a six-game goal streak and Selanne a five-game streak, the longest by teammates since Josef Beranek and Eric Lindros had six-game streaks for the Philadelphia Flyers in October 1993.

“I’ll jump on their backs any time,� goalie Guy Hebert said of his scalding teammates.

If this keeps up, the Ducks will no longer be a struggling team. They will once again be among the top teams in the NHL’s Western Conference.

Monday’s victory was the 10th-place Ducks’ second in a row on a four-game trip. Kariya had two goals and Selanne one in a 7-1 rout Saturday of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s the Ducks’ first winning streak since they won four in a row in December. They are 5-11-2 since the streak ended Dec. 22, however.

Desperation has played a role in the team’s turnaround. A conversation between Kariya, Selanne and Coach Craig Hartsburg a few weeks ago also helped.

“We’ve been playing good two-way hockey all year,� Kariya said. “Maybe there was some miscommunication with Craig. He sat us down and told us, ‘You guys have a little more [offensive freedom]. Make some plays out there.’ �

That was all Kariya and Selanne needed to hear. They’ve been shredding opponents since the meeting, which Kariya said took place a couple of weeks ago.

Kariya has 10 goals and five assists during his streak and Selanne has six goals and five assists during his. Kariya and Selanne have scored 16 of the Ducks’ last 22 goals.

“Craig gave us a little more [freedom] and we’ve tried to open it up a little bit,� Selanne said.

Center Steve Rucchin’s return from an 11-game absence because of a staph infection in his left ankle hasn’t hurt the all-star wingers either. Rucchin had an assist Monday, giving him a four-game assist streak since rejoining the lineup.

But this was not merely a two-man effort.

Hebert made 20 saves, giving up a first-period goal to Joe Thornton and a third-period score to Anson Carter.

Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky had two assists, giving him one goal and seven assists during a season-best five-game points streak. Tverdovsky has 27 points this season, topping his 1998-99 total of 25.

“Their best players played better than our best players,� Boston Coach Pat Burns said.

And no one was better than Kariya and Selanne.

Kariya’s deflection of Rucchin’s shot gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead 3:53 into the game. Thornton tied the score at 5:12. But Kariya set up Selanne for power-play goals at 9:34 and 14:44, each pass a pinpoint cross-ice feed that had many in the announced crowd of 15,689 cheering.

After Carter closed the gap to 3-2 with 10:40 left in the game, Kariya scored from the slot as a Duck power play expired with 4:50 remaining.

“When they got their goal in the third, our guys got stronger,� Hartsburg said.

“We’re responding well right now to challenges, whether it’s a goal against us or a physical play or a disallowed goal.�

The Ducks did not let down when an apparent second-period power-play goal was nullified by referee Lance Roberts.

Roberts ruled that Rucchin interfered with Boston goalie Byron Dafoe with four minutes left in the period. TV replays showed the players collided ever so slightly just before the puck struck Rucchin.

Rucchin was not penalized and in a roundabout way, justice was served.

Moments earlier, Boston defenseman Ray Bourque was whistled for tripping Rucchin, although Rucchin clearly fell on his own while chasing a loose puck into the corner.