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

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The Mighty Ducks' task won't be easy from here. They still must win at least one more game in Calgary, and take two of three games from one of the NHL's toughest, most disciplined teams.

But now, at least the Ducks know it can be done.

In Thursday's Game 4, the Ducks looked strong as they took a two-goal lead into the third period, but they still needed Sean O'Donnell's overtime goal to keep alive their delicate Stanley Cup hopes.

O'Donnell beat Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff with a slap shot 1:36 into overtime and lifted the Ducks to a 3-2 victory in front of 17,174 at the Pond, a game that evened the first-round series at two games each.

Calgary's Jarome Iginla scored twice in the first three minutes of the third period to tie the score, but O'Donnell prevented the Flames from taking a commanding series lead. Game 5 is Saturday in Calgary.

"Winning three in a row, and two in Calgary, would have been a real tough task," O'Donnell said. "We needed this game."

They got it, thanks to O'Donnell.

Calgary's Stephane Yelle took a high-sticking penalty with 30 seconds left in regulation. Just as Yelle got back on the ice, the Ducks' Chris Kunitz fed a pass from the end line to O'Donnell at the topof the left faceoff circle, and O'Donnell ripped a slap shot past Kiprusoff.

Ducks center Rob Niedermayer provided some traffic in front, but the shot cleanly beat Kiprusoff.

"I don't have a whole lot to compare that to," O'Donnell said. "It was an interesting feeling to see that the puck went through his legs and the game was over and I was the one who did it. I just put my head down and hit it as hard as I could and it went through somehow."

Ducks GM Brian Burke got immense praise for his November trade for defenseman Francois Beauchemin, but four months later, Burke acquired O'Donnell from Phoenix, and it paid off.

O'Donnell, who spent his first six NHL seasons with the Kings, had one goal, two assists and a plus-three rating in 21 games with the Ducks, and his playoff experience (44 games) was also a welcome addition.

"You need guys to step up and play their best hockey, and he's been great since we got him," Ducks center Andy McDonald said of O'Donnell. "Pucks don't get by Kiprusoff easily. It was a great shot."

But it was only relevant because of Iginla's huge effort.

Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 18 shots through two periods, but Iginla scored just 11 seconds into the third period, then tied the score 2-2 at the 3:27 mark when he smacked in the rebound of a shot by Andrew Ference.

The Ducks took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals by Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf.

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