MIGHTY DUCKS NOTEBOOK / ELLIOTT TEAFORD : Cautious Defense Lost in All the Excitement

Right wing Valeri Karpov fires an ill-advised breakout pass toward a teammate charging up ice. It’s quickly intercepted and converted into an easy goal by the opposition.

Left wing Paul Kariya makes a beeline for the opposing end, gets too far ahead of the play and his teammates fail to get him the puck.

A defensive pair--it doesn’t matter which one because all have been guilty--can’t get the puck out of their own end, can’t provide the goaltender adequate support.

These scenes, culled from the Mighty Ducks’ two-game midweek trip, beg the question: Have they become too offensive-minded?

In losses at St. Louis and Dallas, it appeared the Ducks forgot how to play the cautious, defensive style that served them so well in winning 33 games last season. In their last four games, the Ducks have been outscored, 23-9, and outshot, 183-83. Keeping track of defensive breakdowns and outmanned attacks by opponents proved to be a tougher chore. There seemed too many to count.

What happened to that clutching-and-grabbing, dumping-and-chasing team of last season?

Opinions were offered readily, but solving the troubles could be more difficult.

“It’s like a batter (in baseball) not trusting his swing,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “He’s going up there guessing. Pretty soon he’s adjusting his swing and then he’s dead.”

Team captain Randy Ladouceur put it this way: “The last two games were a wake-up call for us. It’s shown us where we need to improve. We got a little away from the game we’ve had success with. Fortunately, it’s something that’s happened early in the season.”

Neither Wilson nor Ladouceur expected the Ducks to revert to 1993-94 form immediately, and high-scoring Detroit certainly wasn’t a team to bank on a quick turnaround.

But Friday, Wilson made good on a recent promise to play more veterans.

“We have a lot of new faces,” he said. “We’re still learning. It’s a lot different from last year.”

To be sure, the Ducks have missed veteran forwards Stephan Lebeau and Garry Valk, sidelined by leg injuries since the season began. Lebeau returned against Detroit, giving the Ducks a boost, and Valk could be back within a week.

“Stephan and I played in Montreal and Vancouver (respectively), organizations that stressed the defensive part of the game,” Valk said. “I think it’s a great wake-up call. We responded all last year. I think the team will bounce back.”

*

Thursday, Valk skated for the first time since straining his left knee during the post-lockout training camp. He said he’s probably a week away from being fit enough to play. “I’ll go as hard as the pain will allow,” he said. “The strength is there, but it’s a matter of getting the tenderness out.”

The Ducks’ miserable performances at St. Louis and Dallas made Valk cringe as he watched on TV from home.

“Painful,” he called the experience. “I had to feel sorry for the guys.”

*

Todd Krygier, the newest Duck, has never been a star in the NHL, but his humble roots taught him to never give up.

Krygier, 29, played at Connecticut, hardly a collegiate hockey powerhouse. The school is renowned for its outdoor rink, however. While the Maines and Boston Colleges were hard at work practicing, the Huskies had to wait until the first freeze to lay the ice and begin workouts. And there was no telling when that might be.

What’s more, UConn wasn’t his first choice. Krygier went there only after he failed to make the team at Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology.

It was hardly the fast track to the NHL, but a 32-goal, 39-assist senior season caught the eyes of scouts and Krygier made the jump to New Haven of the American Hockey League. Of course, he had to pass an amateur tryout before signing his first pro contract in 1988.

*

Stats of the week: After eight games last season, the expansion Ducks were 2-4-2 with 15 goals scored and 29 scored against. Troy Loney and Terry Yake, neither of whom is with the team this year, led the team with three goals each. Only one goal, by Patrik Carnback, was scored by a rookie.

After eight games this season, the Ducks are 3-5-0 with 20 goals and 36 goals against. Paul Kariya, a rookie, has a team-leading four goals and Joe Sacco, a veteran, has three. Rookies have scored eight of the team’s 20 goals.