Ducks Can’t Find Finishing Touch : Hockey: They play great defense but blow several good scoring chances in 4-1 loss to Canadiens in Montreal.

The NHL’s most tradition-rich team, Les Habitants , met the league’s least traditional team, Les Mighty Ducks , Saturday in the hallowed Montreal Forum.

The Ducks’ home is an arena whose only championship team wore roller skates, but they played the Canadiens beneath Montreal’s 24 Stanley Cup banners, and left after a 4-1 loss feeling they half belonged.

The Stanley Cup champions led by only two goals before center Stephan Lebeau’s empty-netter with 38 seconds left, his second goal of the game, provided the final margin.

The Ducks also outshot the Canadiens, 33-27, and saw two of Montreal’s goals come off assists from defenders’ sticks and skates.

That, however, is hockey, and Les Canards , as they are occasionally called here, are savvy enough to know that close is the curse of an expansion team. There are no points awarded for good efforts or respectable losses.

“Obviously, we’re happy with the way we played defensively,” said defenseman Sean Hill, who played for the Canadiens last season and received a Stanley Cup ring during the visit, as did right wing Todd Ewen and General Manager Jack Ferreira, a former Montreal scout. “We were happy with the chances we got, but we need to put them away. The bottom line is it comes down to burying the puck, and we didn’t do it.”

Just eight games into the season, the Ducks have come face to face with what could prove to be a season-long struggle. They are not finishing their scoring chances, and have a total of one goal over the past two games.

“There’s no question we’re not going to get as many easy or pretty goals as a lot of teams,” said right wing Terry Yake. “We have to work pretty darn hard to score, and when we get the puck around the net, somebody has to be there to finish. But the worst thing we can do right now is have everybody put pressure on themselves.

“It gets frustrating. In the last two games, we’ve scored one goal, and when you’re not scoring, it adds pressure. Then, when you put pressure on yourself, you start to not do what comes naturally.”

The Ducks trailed, 3-0, before left wing Garry Valk stuffed in a third-period goal, which itself appeared as if it might have gone in off Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy’s skate. Bob Corkum and Randy Ladouceur were credited with assists.

There were handfuls of better chances the Ducks couldn’t capitalize on, such as left wing Tim Sweeney’s second-period breakaway that harmlessly hit off Roy’s pads. Plenty of other shots went wide, had too little on them or were blocked out front. And those that had to be stopped, with the exception of one, were stopped by Roy, last year’s playoff MVP.

“We’ve managed to make a lot of goalies look good this year,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “Some, obviously, are not as good as Patrick Roy. He was up to the task on a couple of opportunities. But that’s why he’s paid $100 million or whatever it is.”

Duck goalie Guy Hebert said he felt at his sharpest so far this season, though he allowed three goals. Lebeau beat him on the first one by wheeling in front of the crease from the side of the net and putting the puck past Hebert as he went down.

The second was scored by Vincent Damphousse, after Hebert made the initial save on a two-on-one break, then tried to clear the puck as it hit his skate. Instead, it went onto the skate of his defenseman, Alexei Kasatonov, and caromed back to Damphousse, who had an open net.

“Just a fluky thing,” Hebert said.

The third goal came on defenseman Mark Ferner’s outstanding sliding effort that broke up a shot, only to send the puck to Montreal’s Brian Bellows and off the skate of Kasatonov and into the net on a goal credited to Gary Leeman. Bellows had three assists.

“Those are very unfortunate circumstances. It’s part of the game,” Hebert said. “Those don’t happen often. If we won one on those kind of bounces, I wouldn’t complain.”

Duck Notes

Terry Yake, who scored the first hat trick in Mighty Duck history Tuesday against the New York Rangers, received congratulations and a top hat full of candy from Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner the next day. “It was like a great big cat-in-the-hat hat, about a foot-and-a-half tall with black-and-white stripes,” Yake said. “It was nice to know he was even watching, and then to send it. I’ve got it in my duffel bag, and I’m going to take it on the bus to share.” . . . Montreal center Kirk Muller did not play because of an aggravated shoulder injury. . . . Duck right wing Jim Thomson returned from a shoulder injury after a five-game absence. Winger Peter Douris, who sprained his left knee during the preseason, could make his debut on Monday against Ottawa.