 
|
|
              
|
12/06/1997 22:01 EST Penguins 5, Mighty Ducks 2 PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jaromir Jagr scored twice and Ron Francis had a goal and three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins got a strong penalty-killing effort and beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 5-2 Saturday night. The Penguins rebounded from Thursday's 4-0 home loss to New Jersey that ended their 7-0-1 streak. Anaheim's winless streak extended to four games (0-3-1). After allowing a goal on Anaheim's first power-play chance, the Penguins killed the next eight shorthanded situations. They came into the game with the NHL''s lowest ranked home-ice penalty killing, 74.5 percent. Goaltender Peter Skudra got his first NHL win in his first start since Nov. 7. In the 12 games that Tom Barrasso started during that span, Skudra appeared twice, playing a total of 52 minutes in the month. Saturday's game was his fifth and his second start. Pittsburgh had a 2-1 lead at 9:26 of the second when Jagr spun away from Ted Drury, cut to the inside on defenseman Ruslan Salei and beat goalie Guy Hebert. Francis made it 4-1 49 seconds later when he jabbed the puck free of Hebert's pads for his ninth goal and second in the last 16 games. Jagr and Francis combined on a third-period goal. Jagr fought off Jeff Nielsen's check along the boards and went to the net. He took Francis' pass and slipped a backhander past Hebert for his 13th goal. Jagr has multiple goals in two of 27 games this year. He has goals in five of his last seven games. Anaheim's only lead lasted 12 seconds. The Mighty Ducks were in a 5-for-48 power play slump when Teemu Selanne scored his 24th goal on the team's first opportunity. The play started when Jiri Slegr inadvertently put a shot on his own net and Selanne knocked in the loose puck. Slegr got the goal back after the ensuing faceoff when he surprised Hebert with a 50-footer. Andreas Johnasson put the Penguins ahead at 13:39 of the first period when he banked a 20-footer off a goal post for his fourth goal. Tomas Sandstrom scored shorthanded for Anaheim late in the second period. The Mighty Ducks have never won in Pittsburgh, making the Penguins the only opponent they've never beaten on the road. Anaheim is 1-5-1 against the Penguins, 0-3-1 in Pittsburgh.
|
