DUCKS BREAK ON THROUGH; VICTORY IS ELUSIVE THIRD WIN IN A ROW : DUCKS 2, CHICAGO 0.

Byline: Greg Christensen Staff Writer

The Mighty Ducks have been huffing and puffing most of the 1999-2000 season. No matter how hard they tried, it seemed like .500 was their lot in life.

But it's amazing how three consecutive wins can lift a team's spirits and standing, especially when it hadn't been able string more than two victories in a row through the first 32 games of the season.

Five times Anaheim had tried, and failed, to win a third game in a row, but the Ducks overcame that obstacle Friday night with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in front of 12,632 at the Pond.

The victory wasn't especially artistic, but the Ducks were never really threatened by the lowly Blackhawks. And once Niclas Havelid's point shot deflected off Chicago defenseman Sylvain Cote's stick and broke the spell of goalie Jocelyn Thibault at 12:35 of the second period, the outcome seemed inevitable.

The second power-play unit chipped in with a goal by Ruslan Salei three minutes after Havelid scored, and just like that the Ducks are tied with Dallas, trail Phoenix and the Kings by only two points, and are within three of San Jose in the Pacific Division.

Anaheim's 37 points is its franchise-best total after 33 games. The Ducks had 34 points in the first 33 games last season.

The Ducks came into the game tied for fifth in the league in defense - allowing 2.25 goals a game. They had given up two or fewer goals 20 times, but their offense was averaging only 2.6 goals a game and had been limited to two goals or fewer 18 times.

Anaheim was 4-12-2 in those games, so Friday's contest was very much up for grabs when the teams were scoreless after 30 minutes and Thibault was on his game.

Perhaps the Ducks got some motivation with just under nine minutes to play in the second period, when Tony Amonte and Pascal Trepanier came together and the Ducks defenseman hit his head hard on the ice. After Trepanier fell, Amonte skated by and pushed his head into the ice for good measure. Trepanier left the ice looking dazed and did not return.

The play certainly raised the ire of the small crowd, one member of which was ejected for heckling a Chicago player.

Thibault was brilliant all game, but the Ducks finally broke through via a combination of hard work and good luck. Steve Rucchin won a face off, Paul Kariya battled to get the puck back to Havelid at the point and the defenseman's shot bounced off Cote's stick and trickled in.

Thibault had no chance on Anaheim's second goal. Matt Cullen did some good work on the boards to keep the puck in, got a return pass from Ted Donato and then set up Salei for a shot from the base of the left circle.

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PHOTO Chicago's Michael Nylander tries to control the puck while the Ducks' Pascal Trepanier holds on for a ride in the first period Friday.

John Hayes/Associated Press