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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Jean-Sebastien Giguere is in an
unfamiliar position as the No. 1 goalie of the Anaheim Mighty
Ducks. Guy Hebert is in an even more unfamiliar position – stuck on
the bench.
Giguere made 37 saves in Wednesday night's 3-3 tie with the
Edmonton Oilers. It was his 11th start of the season – and first
since interim coach Guy Charron demoted Hebert to a backup role for
the rest of the season.
Giguere, 23, is 2-7-2 since being called up from Cincinnati of
the AHL on Jan. 7. The Ducks got him last June in a trade from
Calgary.
"The more I'm out there, the more I'm convinced I can play in
this league and the more confidence I have in myself," Giguere
said. "They're giving me an opportunity to play, and that's all I
can ask for. I just want to make sure I work hard."
Hebert, the first player the Ducks took in the 1993 expansion
draft, was demoted to backup after going 0-11-2 with a 3.63
goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in 13 games since
his last victory on Dec. 17.
Hebert, 34, has one year left on a three-year, $12-million
contract that will pay him $3.8 million next season. He hasn't sat
this much since 1992-93 with St. Louis, when he played 24 games as
Curtis Joseph's backup.
"It's a pretty tough situation for Guy," Teemu Selanne said.
"Every goalie needs confidence. Without confidence, he is useless.
Guy Charron feels it's time to give Giggy some playing time at this
time of the year, but next year is a different story.
"We know how good Guy is going to be. He's still going to play
a lot of games, that's for sure."
Mike Leclerc scored with 1:06 left in the third period and set
up a power-play goal by Marty McInnis as the Ducks rallied twice
from one-goal deficits.
Selanne also scored for Anaheim and Paul Kariya had two assists,
but the Ducks remained winless in a club-record 11 consecutive home
games (0-8-3) since beating Florida in overtime on Jan. 3.
Sergei Zholtok ended a 26-game scoring drought with the
tie-breaking goal and Mike Grier scored short-handed for the Oilers,
who were 0-for-7 on the power play. Center Todd Marchant missed the
game because of a sprained right knee.
Dan Cleary had a goal and an assist and Igor Ulanov added two
assists for the Oilers, who increased their lead over the Los
Angeles Kings to five points in the race for the final Western
Conference playoff berth.
Edmonton goalie Tommy Salo stopped Mike Crowley's shot from the
left point with his shoulder, but Leclerc grabbed the puck and
dropped it at his feet before sweeping his 14th goal into the net.
Zholtok, scoreless in his first 17 games after being acquired in
a trade with Montreal on Dec. 18, snapped a 2-2 tie at 2:15 of the
third with his second goal of the season and first since Nov. 25.
He beat Giguere high to the stick side from 10 feet after getting a
drop pass in the slot from Cleary.
Zholtok, a six-year center who scored a career-high 26 goals
last season with the Canadiens, appeared to give Edmonton the lead
with 1:39 left in the second. But the power-play goal was
disallowed because the net came off its moorings right before the
puck crossed the line.
"He looked good," coach Craig MacTavish said. "He played well
with Georges (Laraque) and Dom (Domenic Pittis). He could have had
four or five tonight."
Game notes
The crowd of 11,307 represented the Ducks' 17th consecutive
non-sellout at the 17,174-seat Pond, extending the longest drought
in the club's eight-year history. ... Hebert recorded the first
victory in Ducks history when he beat the Oilers 4-3 in the
franchise's third game. Edmonton is 5-13-2 at the Pond, and has
the lowest all-time win percentage (.436) against the Ducks among teams in the Western Conference.
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NHL Scoreboard
Edmonton Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Carolina 3
Florida 4
Phoenix 3
Ottawa 3
New Jersey 2
Philadelphia 3
NY Islanders 1
Pittsburgh 2
Minnesota 1
Columbus 2
Toronto 2
San Jose 7
Chicago 0
Dallas 4
Los Angeles 2
Washington 4
Vancouver 3
Edmonton 3
Anaheim 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mike Leclerc snatches the puck out of the air and ties the game with 1:06 left.
avi: 1570 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Oilers' Mike Grier beats Jean-Sebastien Giguere for a short-handed goal.
avi: 1250 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Paul Kariya fires a slapshot that gets tipped by Marty McInnis for an Anaheim power-play goal.
avi: 1120 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Daniel Cleary's goal in the second period temporarily puts Edmonton ahead.
avi: 1300 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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