Ducks’ Skalde Makes Debut to Remember

ANAHEIM — When Jarrod Skalde rewinds the mental tape of his first game with the Mighty Ducks, he can fast-forward past the missed opportunity on a breakaway and cut straight to overtime.

That’s when Skalde broke up the goaltending duel between Guy Hebert and St. Louis’ Curtis Joseph by stuffing in a rebound at 2:56 of overtime to give the Ducks a 2-1 victory in front of 17,017 Sunday at Anaheim Arena.

“I just went to the net and got my stick on it. I didn’t even see how it went in, I was falling down,” Skalde said. It was the Ducks’ first overtime victory and their 10th victory of the season.

Skalde joined the team Thursday from San Diego, replacing leading scorer Anatoli Semenov, who is injured.

Skalde drove hard to the net after Terry Yake’s shot from the left side and shoved the puck past Joseph, who had made 43 saves.

“This is the highlight of my career, that’s for sure,” said Skalde, 22, who had two career goals in 27 games with the New Jersey Devils.

So far, someone prompted him.

“So far, yeah.”

He made a winner of Hebert, who was Joseph’s backup in St. Louis last season.

Hebert made 31 saves, none more crucial than when he stopped Ron Sutter on a breakaway less than a minute into overtime. The Blues got the golden chance when defenseman Sean Hill jumped up to try to keep the puck in the Ducks’ end, only to see Sutter grab it and skate ahead alone.

“I tried to play him as honest as possible. He made a good move, but I stayed with him,” said Hebert, who blocked Sutter’s backhand shot with his right leg.

Coach Ron Wilson, sporting a black eye and three stitches after being hit with a puck in Saturday’s practice, praised his team for sticking to the task against Joseph.

After an uncharacteristic outing in the Blues’ 9-1 loss to the Kings on Saturday, Joseph was threatening to shut out the Ducks well into the third period. But defenseman Alexei Kasatonov tied the score at 12:19 of the third to force overtime.

“The reason we were in overtime was Curtis Joseph, who was spectacular as he is a lot of nights,” Wilson said. “I was afraid we’d lose, 1-0, and that already happened to Guy once. He won the game for himself when he stopped Ron Sutter on the breakaway.”

The Blues’ only goal of the game came with a minute remaining in the first, when Hebert got most of defenseman Rick Zombo’s shot from the slot, only to see it roll in slowly to his left.

“I was worried (Joseph) would hold the fort and they’d win, 1-0,” Hebert said.

The Ducks outshot the Blues, 15-5, in the final period, but Joseph stopped all but one.

More than halfway through the third period, the Ducks were still fighting to avoid being shut out for the third time this season. But Kasatonov picked up the puck in the neutral zone and carried it in himself, skating cross-ice before angling a 20-foot shot past Joseph on his stick side for his third goal of the season.

Skalde, who had 33 points in 23 games in San Diego, had a breakaway in the second period--a rare 3-0 rush, with two teammates behind him--but lost his balance and managed only a weak shot. Later, he missed wide from the slot.

“I had a breakaway and a great chance in front and I missed. I think it must have been nerves,” he said.

Wilson saw more than the misses. He saw the chances Skalde created in order to have the chance to miss.

In the end, Skalde made up for the misses, and relieved the pressure of having to dwell on them.

“I don’t think there’s any pressure,” said Skalde, who was acquired in the June expansion draft but didn’t make the team in camp. “I’m not going to replace Tony Semenov, that’s for sure. He’s a world class player. I think if I do the job defensively and chip in occasionally the team will be happy.”

So far, so good.

Duck Notes

Left wing Garry Valk played after missing one game as a precaution after suffering a concussion against Tampa Bay last week. . . . Left wing Troy Loney, out since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Nov. 17, said he expects to resume skating Tuesday.