Kariya Adds Zest to Ducks in His Anaheim Debut, 4-1

The Mighty Ducks are noticing something new about the flair of Paul Kariya.

It appears to be contagious.

The Ducks were making crisp passes Sunday, their scoring chances practically came in flurries, and a power play that was the worst in the NHL last season is suddenly working.

“Just by watching in practice every day, you can see guys trying new things that Paul does,” said center Bob Corkum, who had a goal and an assist in the Ducks’ 4-1 exhibition victory over Vancouver Sunday. “(But) we all have our own roles. We’re all not Paul Kariya out there, that’s for sure.”

Kariya made his Anaheim exhibition debut before 16,604 at The Pond, scoring a shorthanded breakaway goal only 3:27 into the game.

Anatoli Semenov’s pass from the Ducks’ defensive zone found Kariya already well out front, and after a little hesitation move, he beat goalie Mike Fountain cleanly with a forehand.

“I went down and for the first time in my life, I think I had my head up,” said Kariya, who has two goals and an assist in three exhibitions.

“That was a big goal, it got us going,” Corkum said. “We were sort of stuck in our own end for a few minutes and then all of a sudden Paul is heading down ice. I can tell you, there aren’t too many guys in the league who are as good as he is right now. He’s really incredible, and he’s only going to get better. That’s the scary thing.”

With the addition of rookies Kariya and Valeri Karpov, the Ducks have some returning players battling to make the team. Two of them, Peter Douris and John Lilley, had strong games, both getting a goal and an assist.