Ducks’ Mistake Gives Sharks One on Road

The end of the Mighty Ducks’ losing streak was so close they could smell it. Instead, defensive mistakes left them to chew on a 2-1 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks before 16,014 Sunday at Anaheim Arena.

It was their sixth loss in a row--as well as the Sharks’ first road victory of the season--and the Ducks could hardly believe it happened to them. They led, 1-0, during the third period, but the Sharks tied the score at 7:34 after what Coach Ron Wilson called “inexcusable” and “selfish” mistakes by defensemen Bill Houlder and Sean Hill.

“The difference for us was we made a very selfish mistake to turn it from 1-0 to 1-1,” Wilson said. “We’ve got two defensemen leading the charge up ice. We don’t need goals at that point; we can’t be scored against. It’s just a selfish mistake.

“I can’t stress that enough. Otherwise we play a darn near perfect game.”

After Jeff McLean’s game-tying goal forced overtime, Tom Pederson scored the game-winner when his shot from a difficult angle at the bottom of the right circle somehow found its way between goaltender Guy Hebert’s pads at 1:47 of the five-minute extra period.

Hebert made a strong bid to become the first Duck goaltender to record a shutout, but his luck ran out in the third period.

Hill and Houlder saw an offensive opportunity, and both jumped up and got caught up ice, leaving a 4-on-2 coming the other way with a couple of forwards nearly helpless to defend.

Sergei Makarov, the former Calgary Flame and Soviet national team star, set up McLean for his first NHL goal by cutting around the Ducks’ Joe Sacco to create a 2-on-0 situation, then passing to McLean once Hebert was forced to commit. McLean’s goal tied the score, 1-1. “It was a bad decision, and it cost us the game,” Houlder said. “It was just a stupid thing to do. It’s just basic hockey, if you have a one-goal lead with 10 minutes left. There’s no sense in it. Maybe one defenseman would not bother you, but when two get caught up ice on the play . . .”

Said Wilson: “They cashed in on the mistakes. It shouldn’t have been in overtime. We should have won the game 1-0, there’s not a doubt in my mind. If we’re not going to score, then we’ve got to prevent the other team from scoring and we were doing a good job. But we got carried away trying to make it 2-0 instead of defending the 1-0 lead.”

The teams played more than 36 minutes before either side scored. The Ducks had more and better chances, but Jimmy Waite was able to turn them away until late in the second period, when Garry Valk scored on the Ducks’ fourth power play of the game.

The Ducks had a man advantage after Sandis Ozolinsh was sent off for hooking, and Terry Yake’s pass from the left circle found Valk open high in the slot. Valk slapped it home for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. Anatoli Semenov had the second assist.

The Ducks had a flurry of chances in the final five minutes or so of the third, but Waite held them off, making particularly good stops on Patrik Carnback’s attempt from in front of the net and then sprawling to stop Valk’s shot from short-range.

It was a night when one goal might have been enough. Instead the Ducks lost to the Sharks for the second time in four days, and fell from fourth place in the Pacific Division into a tie for last.

“They guys really did great work for me (on defense),” Hebert said. We had just one breakdown, and it cost us.”

Duck Notes

Defenseman Anatoli Fedotov was recalled from minor league affiliate San Diego to make an emergency appearance. With defenseman Alexei Kasatonov ill and extra defenseman Myles O’Connor out with a groin injury, the Ducks had only five available defensemen before summoning Fedotov.