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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Although the Minnesota Wild lost in their
NHL debut, coach Jacques Lemaire was mostly pleased.
"It was a good game; both teams played well," Lemaire, who
guided New Jersey to the Stanley Cup in 1995, said after the
Anaheim Mighty Ducks defeated the expansion Wild 3-1 Friday night.
|  | | Marian Gaborik scored Minnesota's lone goal in its expansion debut. |
"We had our chances, especially during the five-on-three in the
first period. We kept knocking on the door. In general we played
hard and played well."
Minnesota captain Sean O'Donnell thought he and his teammates
were "excited but not nervous" for their first game that counted.
"I think we were definitely in the game and it could have gone
either way," O'Donnell said. "For being together just a month, I
thought we did a pretty good job."
Matt Cullen and Jim Cummins scored second-period goals and Marty
McInnis added an insurance goal in the third as the Ducks won a
season opener for the first time in their eight years in the
league.
Marian Gaborik, the 18-year-old Slovakian taken by the Wild as
the third player to go in the 2000 NHL entry draft, scored
Minnesota's goal.
Guy Hebert made 35 saves for Anaheim, including nine during a
frantic two minutes of the opening period when the Wild had a
two-man advantage.
"You've got to give them (the Wild) a lot of credit," Hebert
said. "They're going to be in a lot of games all year long. They
work extremely hard.
"The other night when we lost to them in Minnesota (a 3-1
exhibition victory by the Wild), it kind of gave us a dose of
reality that we'd better not take them lightly."
Cullen staked Anaheim to a 2-0 lead with 4:34 remaining in the
second period. After Minnesota's Jamie McLennan blocked Jonas
Ronnqvist's shot from the left point, Cullen skated across the
crease, picked up the loose puck and poked it in past the sprawling
McLennan.
Gaborik narrowed the gap to 2-1 with his goal with 1:01 left in
the period. Scott Pellerin passed from behind the Anaheim net, and
Gaborik beat Hebert on the stick side.
Cummins, signed by Anaheim as a free agent in July, gave the
Ducks the lead when he scored with the game just 3:07 old, beating
McLennan from close range after taking a pass from Dan Bylsma.
On McInnis' goal, he picked up the puck behind the Minnesota
net, circled near the boards to his right and fired a slap shot
past McLennan, who was screened on the play.
McLennan, who spent the past three seasons with St. Louis, made
36 saves against Anaheim.
The crowd was 16,520, or 654 short of a sellout. It was the
first time the Mighty Ducks didn't sell out a home opener. After
selling out most of their games the first few seasons, the Mighty
Ducks had just eight capacity crowds last season.
Although Minnesota got off 36 shots against Anaheim, the Wild
might have difficulty scoring: Sergei Krivokrasov is the only
player on the roster who reached double digits in goals last
season, scoring 10 with Nashville and Calgary last season.
Game notes
For the record, left wing Antti Laaksonen took the Wild's
first shot, stopped by Hebert in the opening minute; and Matt
Johnson was assessed Minnesota's first penalty, for charging at
5:07 of the first period. ... Anaheim was without Steve Rucchin,
center of the Mighty Ducks' top line with Paul Kariya and Teemu
Selanne. Rucchin is expected to miss at least the first two weeks
of the season with a broken bone in his left hand. ... Minnesota's
penalty-killing unit led the league in the preseason with a 94.5
percentage, allowing only three goals in 55 short-handed
situations. ... Minnesota right wing Jeff Nielsen spent the last 2½ seasons with the Mighty Ducks.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 8
Montreal 4
Los Angeles 4
Washington 1
Vancouver 4
Florida 3
NY Islanders 3
Tampa Bay 3
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
Anaheim 3
Minnesota 1
St. Louis 4
San Jose 1
Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 1
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