Ducks Lose, Search for New Goals After Ouster : Hockey: Anaheim is outshot, 45-12, breaking club record for fewest shots in a game during 4-2 loss to Flames.

They wanted to believe it wouldn’t matter. They were wrong.

The San Jose Sharks snuffed the Mighty Ducks’ last faint flicker of a chance to make the playoffs by beating the Kings on Tuesday night while most of the Ducks were in their hotel rooms waiting for the late news.

They knew it was all but inevitable, and they thought they were prepared. But they responded Wednesday night with a faint flicker of an offense in a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames, who clinched the Pacific Division title before 20,230 at the Olympic Saddledome.

It was not the result they were ashamed of, it was the shot totals. The Ducks broke the club record for fewest shots in a game as the Flames outshot them, 45-12. The previous low was 15 in a 1-0 loss to San Jose on Jan. 27.

They also tied a club record by managing only one shot in the first period--on Garry Valk’s breakaway goal 47 seconds into the game.

The only reason it was close was Guy Hebert, who earned the rare honor of being named No. 1 star in a road loss. Only an empty-net goal by Al MacInnis with 18 seconds to play made the margin two. Zarley Zalapski scored the game-winning goal on a power play at 4:42 of the second period with a shot from the left circle.

“I’m sure the first period wasn’t our best period of the year, but you’ve got to give them credit,” Hebert said. “They were buzzing around, and they’ve got a great transition game right now. . . . I have to admit I was a little surprised to look up and see the shots were 19-1 after the first.”

They didn’t get a second shot until 1:06 of the second, when Valk scored again.

It was ugly enough that for the third time this season, Coach Ron Wilson declined to speak to reporters afterward. The players held a meeting among themselves.

“A few older guys stood up after the game and said, ‘Look, it’s embarrassing, 11 shots on net,’ ” Valk said.

“You woke up this morning and knew the race is over and our last game is Wednesday. . . . We’ve been playing playoff hockey all year, playing hard. I think it was a mixture of some of the guys being burnt out from the race, and now that it’s over, you don’t know how your body will react. The players know now you have to dig even deeper when you’re not in the race.”

Now they have to find other goals, and they say the biggest is to finish with more victories than the Florida Panthers, who have set an expansion record with 32.

Another goal is finishing ahead of the Kings, but it’s a lesser one.

“Years later, you don’t remember that you beat the Kings by eight or 10 points,” Valk said. “You remember if you set a record.”

Unfortunately for him, they set a record Wednesday--one they didn’t want to.

Duck Notes

The Ducks are wearing a black silhouette of Mickey Mouse with the initials FGW on the left shoulder of their jerseys in memory of Frank G. Wells, the Walt Disney Co. president who died in a helicopter crash Sunday. . . . The starting time for the Ducks’ final game of the season Wednesday against Vancouver at The Pond of Anaheim has been changed to 8 p.m. in order to stagger traffic because of an Angel game at Anaheim Stadium.