Ducks Blow Big Chance, Flames Hold On : NHL: Four-minute power play produces only a shorthanded goal by Flames in their 5-4 victory.

The Mighty Duck players are not used to advantages. They are leftovers from other teams, most of them, and they are used to unglamorous work.

The hard work was paying off during most of their 5-4 loss to Calgary in front of 19,811 Thursday at the Olympic Saddledome. But when they got a big advantage--a four-minute power play--the Ducks looked as if they didn’t know what to do with it.

“It almost looked like we were trying to get a breather,” goaltender Guy Hebert said.

They were trailing only 2-1 when the four-minute man advantage began at 16:18 of the second period after Ronnie Stern was sent to the penalty box with a double minor for elbowing and unsportsmanlike conduct.

But instead of grabbing the advantage, the Ducks went flat, and the game turned when they gave up a shorthanded goal and managed only one shot during the power play.

Hebert gave up the shorthanded goal to Gary Roberts after coming out to try to poke away a loose puck that caromed off the boards, only to see it go right to Roberts.

“I thought it wasn’t going to be a problem but it came off faster and at a sharper angle than I thought,” Hebert said. “It’s a very frustrating goal to give up on a power play.”

Wilson said the blame wasn’t all Hebert’s.

“We made a bad play to begin with. I don’t think he was expecting a puck to be shot that quick back down on him, maybe he wasn’t ready to go get it,” Wilson said. “He was caught napping, too. We made an awful outlet pass and it resulted in a dump-in and I don’t think he was ready.”

After two more goals in the first 2:18 of the third period, Calgary led, 5-1.

The Ducks came back with three third-period goals, trimming the lead to 5-4 at 11:47, but couldn’t overcome the Flames, who are in first place in the Pacific Division.

“It could be 10-1, our guys are going to go down to the wire trying to get back in it. That’s what makes me so proud of our team,” Wilson said.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating. The Ducks hit the post twice, Todd Ewen missed wide on a breakaway, and the Ducks had a three-on-one whistled dead because of an injury to Ted Drury at the other end of the ice.

Wilson said he was “very upset” by the call. “We saw the guy get up, see a three-on-one and fall down again. I appreciate how hard it is for the referee because you never know how seriously someone is hurt. But it has to be a pretty serious injury to blow the whistle and prevent the other team from getting a scoring opportunity.”

It helped the Flames that Mike Vernon, who is 10-1-1 and entered the game with a 2.29 goals-against average, was in goal.

“The only difference tonight was Mike Vernon, as far as I was concerned,” Wilson said. “He made some key stops early and some key stops toward the end.”

The Ducks had their highlights--Peter Douris scored his first two goals of the season and enforcer Stu Grimson had an assist for his first point of the season as well as his first assist since Chicago’s season-opener Oct. 7, 1992, against Tampa Bay.

Bob Corkum scored his team-leading seventh goal.

And the Ducks did at least avoid the fate of the Kings, who were shut out in the Saddledome on Tuesday. They got the same number of points in the standings, though--zero.

“We can’t not play for eight minutes in games, even if we win the other 52,” Hebert said. “If we’re playing the No. 1 team in the division and you give them eight minutes, they’ll win.”

Another good effort ended with no results.

“A lot of guys I believe might be kicking themselves in the rear end,” Wilson said. “This is all a learning experience. We learned that the 10 seconds you relax might cost you the game.”

Duck Notes

Goaltender Ron Tugnutt, who strained his neck during practice Tuesday, did not dress, with Mikhail Shtalenkov available as the backup instead. Shtalenkov might get his first NHL start Sunday at Vancouver, Coach Ron Wilson said.