EXTRA WORK PAYS OFF O'DONNELL'S OT GOAL GIVES DUCKS WIN DUCKS 3, CALGARY 2 (OT).

Byline: RICH HAMMOND  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The task of figuring out what the Mighty Ducks needed to improve upon Thursday didn't require much thought. That's because they needed to be better at almost everything.

In the first three games of their first-round series against Calgary, the Ducks were often on the short end when it came to skating, hitting, goaltending, discipline and pretty much every facet of the game.

With their season basically on the line Thursday in Game 4, the Ducks needed a complete reversal of fortune. For two periods, they got it, and held a two-goal lead, but gave it up in the third period.

But Sean O'Donnell made sure the Ducks would return to Calgary with the series even, scoring the decisive goal 1:32 into overtime to give them a 3-2 win in front of 17,174 at the Pond.

Chris Kunitz and Teemu Selanne scored second-period goals to put the Ducks up 2-0, but Calgary's Jarome Iginla scored twice in the first four minutes of the third period to even things up.

Other than Iginla's two quick goals, Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned in a solid effort, as he made 25 saves and helped keep the Flames scoreless on seven power-play chances.

Up until pregame warmups, doubt remained over who Ducks coach Randy Carlyle would choose to start in goal, but ultimately they stuck with Giguere, who missed Game 1 with an undisclosed leg injury and turned in an uneven performance in the Ducks' dreadful Game 3 loss Monday.

Giguere showed significant improvement in the first two periods, and looked better because the defense in front of him did a better job of clearing the front of the net.

In general, the Ducks did a better job of dictating the pace of play from the start, and their work paid off with a pair of second-period goals against Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Ducks started the second period on the power play and didn't score, but kept up the pressure and took a 1-0 lead when Kunitz scored a dazzling goal 3:47 into the period.

Corey Perry knocked the puck away from the Flames in the Ducks' zone, and Kunitz picked it up at the top of the left faceoff circle. A speed burst carried Kunitz through the neutral zone, as he split two Flames defenders, skated in alone and beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot.

At the 6:05 mark, Jamie Lundmark took a cross-checking penalty, and the Ducks scored 68 seconds later. A sharp series of tic-tac-toe passes led to a shot from the point by Andy McDonald. Kiprusoff made the stop but allowed a rebound, and Selanne pounced in and smacked a backhand shot into the net.

Things look great for the Ducks coming out of the second intermission, but Iginla needed only 11 seconds to take a long breakout pass from Daymond Langkow, skate in alone and beat Giguere with a wrist shot.

Then, at the 3:27 mark, Iginla tied the score when he knocked in a rebound off Andrew Ference's slap shot from.

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