DUCKS DELIVER HOMEY SHUTOUT DUCKS 3, NASHVILLE 0.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The Pond hadn't exactly been a welcome sight for the Mighty Ducks, but Fredrik Olausson's first regular-season goal in more than a year helped the Ducks avoid another disappointing return home.

The past two times the Ducks returned from road trips, they gave up four goals and lost. This time, they jumped on the Nashville Predators and didn't let up to earn their second shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory Sunday in front of 11,979 at the Pond.

Olausson, playing in his 999th career game, scored a power-play goal 3:53 into the second period. Olausson's shot from between the circles was saved by Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun, but Olausson got to the rebound and scored on a backhander for his first goal of the season. Olausson's last goal was Nov. 7, 2001, at Phoenix.

``We had a couple bad games on the road,'' Ducks captain Paul Kariya said. ``But coming back from the road trip and getting a win like that, playing well, is a good sign. We haven't done that the previous times we've come home from a decent road trip.''

Defenseman Niclas Havelid gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead when he finished a give-and-go with Kariya with 5:28 remaining in the first period.

``You want to jump on them, finish your check,'' Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. ``The first 10 minutes of the game is obviously a key. You want to show them that you're not going to give them anything. That's what we did tonight.''

Stanislav Chistov nearly scored just 1:38 into the game, when he took a cross-ice pass and skated past a defenseman before beating Vokoun with a shot that went off the crossbar.

The play was the type the speedy and skilled rookie has created all season. He entered the game second in the league among rookies with 14 points.

The Predators, playing without top scorer Andreas Johansson, were held without a shot on goal for the first 14 minutes of the first and had few quality chances on Giguere in the first two periods.

``There was no one hotter than this team,'' Ducks coach Mike Babcock said of the Predators, who had won four of their previous six games. ``Tonight we came out right from the start to the finish (and) controlled the hockey game.''

The Ducks came up empty on two power plays in the period but came back with two goals with the man advantage in the second period.

Olausson got the first, then with 2:24 remaining in the period, Petr Sykora took a centering pass from Matt Cullen and redirected in between Vokoun's legs for a 3-0 lead. Sykora scored for the second consecutive game after going eight games without a goal. His nine goals are second on the team to Kariya's 12.

Nashville was playing for the second consecutive night but was finishing up a three-game road trip in which it beat the Kings and Sharks, including a 4-2 victory Saturday over San Jose.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere (35) blocks a shot by Nashville's Scott Hartnell.

John Hayes/Associated Press