Ducks do what is needed in 5-2 victory

COLUMBUS, OHIO —  The look was one of disbelief when referee Mike Hasenfratz waved off an apparent tying goal by the Ducks’ Corey Perry in the third period of a pressure-packed game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

So how did the Ducks react to that setback? Swiftly and severely.

In a spirited rally that could have lasting meaning, the Ducks followed with three power-play goals and threw another into an empty net for good measure that allowed them to walk out of Nationwide Arena with a 5-2 victory Thursday night.

Starting with a game-tying goal by Francois Beauchemin and ending with Teemu Selanne’s tally to cap the comeback, the Ducks (46-20-12) gained victories on consecutive nights on their four-game trip and padded their lead in the Pacific Division to six points over idle Dallas and San Jose.

“We needed this hockey game a lot more than they did,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. “That was the most important thing. We didn’t stray from what our task was.”

Ryan Getzlaf got the eventual game-winner and Chris Pronger scored twice, including an insurance goal late in the third. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 23 saves for his career-best 35th victory.

After Sergei Fedorov broke a 1-1 tie one minute into the third, the Ducks appeared to pull even when Perry jammed in a loose puck that Columbus goalie Fredrik Norrena couldn’t secure.

It was good enough for the goal judge, who turned on the red light, but not enough for Hasenfratz as he immediately waved it off even though television replays show Norrena never had control of the puck.

“I thought for sure it was in,” Perry said. “The puck was over the line for at least three seconds. I look at it and then they started to wave it off.”

Carlyle seemed somewhat satisfied with Hasenfratz’s explanation, even though his mannerisms didn’t show such at the time.

As Carlyle himself explained afterward, Hasenfratz told him he didn’t have time to use his whistle but was within his right to blow the play dead in his judgment.

“It’s the right call,” Carlyle said. “That’s the rule.”

Instead of pouting over the call, the Ducks simply turned their game up to a higher level.

Beauchemin, who came over in the Fedorov deal last season, continued to torment his old team as he crashed the net and redirected in Selanne’s centering pass.

The floodgates then opened, starting with Getzlaf’s goal that broke a 2-2 tie, when his intended pass for Andy McDonald deflected in off Columbus defenseman Ron Hainsey.

“That’s exactly what you want to see out of our group,” Getzlaf said. “We felt we got jobbed on that [call]. It got waved off but our group did a great job of responding. That’s what you have to do in that situation.”

It was a night full of odd bounces. Pronger got his first goal in the second period when he flung a puck toward the net in the direction of McDonald, but Blue Jackets defenseman Anders Eriksson inadvertently deflected it into the net.

Columbus’ Aaron Johnson got credited for a second-period goal that actually went off the Ducks’ Kent Huskins.

“Sometimes you get textbook games and other games, it bounces around on you,” Carlyle said.

Pronger’s second goal was much more conventional as it came on a blistering slap shot from the right circle. The Ducks converted on three of their six power plays after going scoreless in seven over the last two games.

“The power play finally stepped up and kind of got clicking again,” Pronger said.

All in all, the Ducks didn’t allow a setback to get them down.

“These things are going to happen in the playoffs,” Giguere said. “There’s going to be goals that are disallowed. That’s the kind of adversity we’re going to face and to have a positive response to a negative situation is a good thing to see.”

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