DUCKS PASS TEST AGAINST THE BEST GIGUERE SHUTS OUT WILD WITH 26 SAVES MIGHTY DUCKS 1, MINNESOTA 0.

Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer

ANAHEIM- With their confidence boosted after three victories in their past four games, the Mighty Ducks took on the NHL's best Sunday and came away with a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild in front of 14,070 at the Pond.

Minnesota entered the game with an NHL-leading 22 points and a rising star in Marian Gaborik, who led the league with 11 goals.

But it was the Ducks who controlled the tempo for most of the first period and the game, and took a 1-0 lead 6:35 into the game.

Minnesota goalie Manny Fernandez deflected Petr Sykora's shot straight in front of his goal. Stanislav Chistov ``turned and saw the puck in front of me'' and put a quick wrist shot past Fernandez as Ducks center Andy McDonald fell on top of him.

It was Chistov's fourth goal of the season, tying him for second among rookies. The Russian winger's 10 points are also second among rookies.

After a rough start to the season, Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere continued to show a return to the form that made him one of the best in the league last season. He stopped 26 shots for his first shutout of the season, and the Ducks won their third consecutive game.

``To me we're taking steps,'' Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. ``They're not big steps, ... but we're getting better.''

The Ducks came into the game playing their best hockey of the season, a trend they needed to continue against the surprising Wild. They did just that, putting nine shots on Fernandez midway through the first period.

``I think right now we realize that we are a good team and we can compete against any team in this league,'' Giguere said. ``The key for us was to keep playing the way we were playing. I thought all together tonight we played a really good game from beginning to end, and we should be happy with it.''

One of Minnesota's best chances in the third period came with 7:12 remaining. Gaborik collected the puck off a turnover and rushed in on Giguere, but defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski knocked the puck away before Gaborik could get off a clean shot.

Giguere had to be on top of his game, and he was. The Wild had several chances from right outside the crease, but Giguere came up with the save every time. With 3:09 left in the first period, Giguere stopped Gaborik on a wide-open wrist shot and a one-timer off the rebound.

Giguere was one of the top goalies in the league last season, when he was fifth in goals-against average (2.13) and tied for fifth in save percentage (.920). He had a .925 save percentage in his last five games before Sunday.

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Stanislav Chistov (23) is pressured by Minnesota's Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News