GAME REPORT

FIRST PERIOD: MIGHTY DUCKS: 2, RED WINGS: 1

* IN REVIEW: Beam me up, Scotty. Bowman must have been wondering what was happening to his goalie, Mike Vernon, who suddenly lost it at 10:36. Vernon came undone after receiving a high-sticking penalty and promptly earned a 10-minute misconduct from referee Bill McCreary for uttering the magic words in an expletive-laced tirade. Then Bowman had a few words for Vernon at the Red Wing bench. In all, it was intensity all around as the teams combined for 50 penalty minutes.

* SAVES: Anaheim--Mikhail Shtalenkov 14, Detroit--Vernon 9.

* SCORING: Ducks 1, Red Wings 0: With a two-man advantage and Vernon melting down, the Ducks converted with 15 seconds left on the five-on-three. Paul Kariya scored his seventh of the playoffs, firing a one-timer from the base of the right circle, beating Vernon on the glove side, at 11:19.

Ducks 2, Red Wings 0: Another five-on-three advantage and it was the first time either team had taken a two-goal lead in this series. Kariya, from the right-wing boards, hit Teemu Selanne with a perfect pass, which Selanne put away from the edge of the left crease at 12:09, for his seventh goal of the playoffs.

Ducks 2, Red Wings 1: With 12 seconds remaining on their power play, the Red Wings broke through, as Slava Kozlov controlled his own rebound and put it past Shtalenkov with a backhander at 15:47 for his fourth goal of the playoffs. Sergei Fedorov set up the goal after Duck defenseman Dan Trebil’s clearing pass hit him in the left corner.

* KEY PLAYS: Red Wing defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov was on the verge of tying the score with 2:17 remaining, trying to put away a rebound at the left post into a partially open net, but was stymied by Duck defenseman Darren Van Impe, who got a stick on the puck and knocked it away . . . First injury of the game: Detroit right wing Joe Kocur had to be helped off the ice at 6:30 after sliding into the end boards near the Duck net. He was said to be suffering from back spasms and did not return.

SECOND PERIOD: MIGHTY DUCKS: 3, RED WINGS: 3

* IN REVIEW: Perhaps the fatigue of Sunday’s triple-overtime game was starting to get to the Ducks. After taking a two-goal lead, they mustered very little offense with only three more shots after Drury’s goal at 5:12. The Ducks had only one shot in the final 7:42 of the period. In contrast, the Red Wings had 11 shots in that same span. Neither Selanne nor Kariya had a shot in the second period. Linemate Steve Rucchin had no shots in the first two periods.

* SAVES: Shtalenkov 21, Vernon 5.

* SCORING: Ducks 3, Red Wings 1: Taking advantage of Detroit defenseman Aaron Ward’s giveaway, the Ducks took off on a two-on-one break. Instead of passing to Warren Rychel, Drury beat Vernon with a shot from the right wing, scoring his first playoff goal, and first point, at 5:12.

Ducks 3, Red Wings 2: With Trebil taking an interference penalty against Darren McCarty, the Red Wings scored their second power-play goal of the game, as Igor Larionov picked up his first goal of the playoffs, redirecting Kozlov’s shot, at 13:03.

Ducks 3, Red Wings 3: Detroit scored at even strength as Tomas Sandstrom threw a pinpoint pass from the left-wing boards--or was it a shot? Whatever it was, the puck found Doug Brown’s stick in front, and Brown scored his second goal of the playoffs, at 16:28.

* KEY PLAYS: With the period drawing to a close, the Ducks found themselves lucky to remain tied heading into the third. With about three seconds remaining, Shtalenkov made a big save on Nicklas Lidstrom from the right point and an even bigger save on Martin Lapointe’s rebound.

FINAL: MIGHTY DUCKS: 3, RED WINGS: 5

* IN REVIEW: The Red Wings seized control with goals on consecutive shots in a 24-second span early in the period. It was their first lead of the game and put them in command of the series. In the end, they won Game 3 with relentless pressure against Shtalenkov. Their superior depth made it appear as if they were flying at Shtalenkov in waves. The Ducks pressed for goals, but by opening up the game were not playing to their strengths.

* SAVES: Shtalenkov 9; Vernon 6.

* SCORING: Detroit 4, Ducks 3--Fedorov’s shot from the top of left circle blasted past Shtalenkov at the 3:34 mark to give the Red Wings their first lead on their 39th shot.

Detroit 5, Ducks 3--At 3:58, Kozlov scored his second of the game and sixth of the playoffs on a backhander over a sprawling Shtalenkov with the Red Wings on a two-on-one break with only Mironov back for the Ducks.

* KEY PLAYS: Fedorov pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone and used his speed to beat the Duck defense and score the go-ahead goal. . . . Fedorov struck again 24 seconds later, setting up Kozlov for the Red Wings’ second goal. . . . Selanne’s slap shot trickled past Vernon at the 15-minute mark, but stopped short of crossing the goal line for the Ducks’ best third-period chance.