| | ANAHEIM, California -- All-Star left wing Paul Kariya but his presence was not enough to help the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
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Kariya, who is fifth in the league in scoring, missed seven games with a bruised bone in his right foot. He had not played since February 18 but led all Anaheim forwards tonight by logging 23 shifts totaling 22 minutes, 48 seconds.
The 25-year-old Kariya had an assist on Steve Rucchin's power-play goal in the second period, but the Ducks blew a 3-2 lead with 80 seconds left in regulation and lost to the New York Rangers, 4-3, on Brian Leetch's goal 29 seconds into overtime.
The Ducks were 3-3-1 without their captain, combining for only three goals while losing two of the previous three games. They are 10th in the Western Conference, one point behind Calgary and four behind San Jose for the final playoff berth.
Kariya, 25, is fourth in the league with 35 goals and has 35 assists in 60 games. His plus-19 rating clearly is the best on a team that has qualified for the playoffs only twice since entering the NHL in 1993.
The speedy Kariya has spent his entire six-year career with the Ducks, who selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 1993 draft. He scored a career-best 50 goals in 1995-96 and recorded his second 100-point effort last season with 39 goals and 62 assists while playing all 82 games.
In 361 NHL games, Kariya has 203 goals and 244 assists. | |
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