ANAHEIM — Scott Niedermayer has come back. Teemu Selanne has come back.
But Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry never went anywhere, and they’re a big reason the Ducks are where they are, too.
In Monday’s rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup finals, the line of Getzlaf, Perry and (on this night, at least) Todd Bertuzzi had a hand in all three goals as the Ducks beat Ottawa 3-1 for their 11th win in their last 12 games.
Bertuzzi and Perry scored a little over three minutes apart to help the Ducks build a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. That, and the strong play of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, was all the Ducks really needed.
“It was nice to come out the way we did,� said Getzlaf. “… It’s big to get on the board right away, and to have the power play get one for us, that’s always a confidence builder.�
Getzlaf, the Ducks’ scoring leader, had two assists and now has 21 goals and 50 assists in 66 games. Perry had a goal and an assist and is second in scoring with 29 goals and 54 points.
The two 22-year-olds have had their ups and downs this season. Getzlaf has had at least one point in eight of the last nine games, totaling two goals and 10 assists in that span, but before that had just one point in seven games. And Perry’s goal was his first in 10 games, though he’d had five assists.
“It was going to come,� said Perry. “I’ve had a lot of chances, and the puck wasn’t going in the net. It was nice to get one and hopefully I’ll keep going.�
But even with the return of Selanne — and center Doug Weight, back Monday after missing eight games with a shoulder injury — coach Randy Carlyle never had any thought of breaking up two players who been linemates almost continuously since their arrival three years ago.
“What’s happened with Getzlaf and Perry,� Carlyle noted, “… is that as they progress in the league, their statistics draw a lot of attention to the coverages of the other teams.
“Historically, when they came into the league, we were able to protect them. We were able to play them against what some people would deem fourth lines. Last year, to start the year, they played against third lines and toward the end of the year, sometimes second lines.
“And then they started to get more power play time, and started produce offensively, and this year, they have to play against some of the best checking lines, and some of the (number) one or two lines in the league.�
That has unquestionably been an adjustment, as Getzlaf and Perry both noted.
“This has been a fun year for us,� said Getzlaf, the slightly larger of the two at 6-foot-3, 221 (Perry is 6-3, 209). “It’s been a huge challenge, and I think we knew right from the start that was going to be the case, especially with Teemu gone. We had big shoes to fill, and we knew we were going to face most of the checking lines.�
Said Perry, “Yeah, it’s tough. But every game’s a challenge, and it doesn’t matter who you play against. This year it has been a little tougher. We’re playing against the checking line most nights. They’re doing their job trying to shut us down; we’re trying to do our job, trying to score. That’s a battle out there.�
This is, as they and Carlyle understand, simply part of the maturing process for players rising in both reputation and accomplishment.
“It’s part of growing,� said Getzlaf. “ It’s now our third year, and people are paying a little more attention to us. It’s the same as anything. You’ve got to work that much harder for your space, and I think you learn all the little things along the way, the little things with the puck. You try not to do too much and play your game.�
And, with Selanne back and playing well, opponents have to pick their poison when deploying the checking line. Ottawa sent their checkers against the Getzlaf line Monday, with limited success; on other nights, it might be Selanne’s unit drawing that attention.
“One period it’s this line and the next it might be that line,� said Perry. “It all depends how the game’s going, I guess. We’ve got two lines that can score, and one checking line can’t check two lines.�
And they can’t necessarily stop Getzlaf and Perry, even when that’s the assignment.
“We’re not disappointed in Getzlaf and Perry,� said Carlyle “Can they provide more over the last little while? I think there’s not a hockey player in there that says they shouldn’t — not meaning Corey and Ryan, but all of them as a whole — provide more.
“We’re a team, and they’re a big part of our success.�
That was certainly true again Monday.
Milestone: With his victory against Ottawa, Giguere is 30-16-5 this season, marking the fourth time in the last five NHL seasons he’s reached that mark. In that stretch, he’s 147-114-30; for his career, including brief stints in Hartford and Calgary, he’s 186-150-51.
“I’m pretty excited about it,� Giguere said of win No. 30. “It’s always a benchmark for a goalie, always a goal you set for yourself and try to achieve. Saying that, you can’t do that without having a good team, and big part of that is us being a pretty good team the last three years.
“The last few years, we’ve had core guys in our leadership group that are unbelievable, and I just follow their lead and a lot of times it brings me to victories. It’s a whole lot of fun.�
Niedermayer certainly likes what he’s seeing from the Ducks netminder.
“Huge saves again today, no doubt about it,� said the veteran defenseman. “He feels pretty comfortable where he is in the net, and he’s making big saves. You need that to win hockey games in this league, and he’s giving it to us.�
Bye week: No hockey notebook next week, because I’ll be on vacation, and the week after is uncertain because of other assignments. But check in on the 18th just in case, or watch the print edition of The Star for a reminder when the notebook returns. And don’t miss the additional notes filed prior to these, from the Ducks’ Monday pregame skate.