With hard work and fast skating, the Anaheim Ducks have gone 15 games into the season without losing in regulation.
Still, they're far from satisfied -- and that's one reason they've been so successful.
Teemu Selanne scored a power-play goal 44 seconds into overtime after drawing a tripping penalty from Noah Welch, and Anaheim extended its big start with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
By earning at least one point in each of their first 15 games, including 11 wins, the Ducks tied the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers for the most consecutive games without a loss in regulation to start a season.
"We have to be commended for the work ethic that we put in night in and night out," coach Randy Carlyle said.
"We're not perfect by any means. There are flaws we have to correct, period to period and game to game. But overall, our work ethic has been strong, and it's the strongest trait of our group," he added.
Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who outshot Pittsburgh 40-17 while improving the best record in the NHL.
"The games that we lost in overtime or a shootout, they feel like losses," Selanne said. "I mean, we got the one point out of those games, but we weren't really happy about it because we knew there were two points available. And I think that maybe the reason for this streak is that we really considered those games as losses -- and then we bounced back. That's a good sign."
Dominic Moore and Chris Thorburn scored first-period goals for the Penguins, who concluded a four-game road trip with their second straight loss following a five-game winning streak. Sidney Crosby did not have a shot on net for the third consecutive game.
"I'd definitely like to get more pucks to the net, but I'm not going to sit here and worry about it too much," Crosby said. "Obviously, you want to get shots, but I think I've passed up a couple to try to make a play and I don't regret that. When I think it's time to shoot, I'm going to shoot."
Selanne had plenty of open ice to maneuver with the teams skating 4-on-3 in overtime, and he got in perfect position to redirect Scott Niedermayer's centering pass from the right circle. It was Selanne's 44th game-winning goal with the Ducks, tying Paul Kariya's franchise record.
In other games, it was: Atlanta 5, Boston 3; Washington 4, Ottawa 3 in OT; Toronto 4, Philadelphia 1; Tampa Bay 5, the New York Islanders 1; and Vancouver 2, Dallas 1.
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