One More Bad Night for Ducks

The Mighty Ducks were tough and disciplined last season, but now their offense has folded and the defense has collapsed. To Coach Ron Wilson, his team seems “like a whole house of cards.”

The Ducks have lost five of their last six games--beating only the Kings--and they barely avoided being shut out for a second game in a row Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Olympic Saddledome.

Afterward, the players shut the dressing-room door for 30 minutes to talk about what has happened to their work ethic and bruising style.

“We’re still a working-class team,” said left wing Stu Grimson. “The two things this team is in control of are our ability to play physically and work hard. That’s what we have to do.”

And it’s what they’re not doing.

“We’re playing like a bunch of midgets,” players who could be in high school or junior high, Grimson said. “We don’t compete and don’t take the body. We think we’re going to be 20 stickhandlers and challenge Calgary. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The Ducks aren’t scoring five on five, or even five on four.

In fact, they even had a two-man advantage for 1:05 in the third period on Thursday and still failed to score. Rookie Paul Kariya--who hasn’t had a goal or an assist in four games--hit the crossbar with one shot, and that was about it.

Soon after, with the Ducks still holding a one-man advantage, Calgary goaltender Trevor Kidd blocked a shot and the puck caromed out to Theoren Fleury, who beat Guy Hebert on a shorthanded breakaway.

The Ducks’ power play, worst in the NHL last season, was supposed to be bolstered by the addition of Kariya and power-play specialist Tom Kurvers. But the Ducks entered the game with the fourth-worst power play in the league, and didn’t score in six chances with the man advantage. They have come up empty in their last 21 chances.

Left wing Garry Valk, the team’s third-leading scorer last season, made his season debut after being hobbled for almost a month by a sprained left knee, but he isn’t yet in full game condition. Center Anatoli Semenov returned from a two-game banishment and Wilson said he thought Semenov “played very well and did the job.”

Offense isn’t the only problem. Even after reverting to their defensive style, the Ducks are having breakdowns. Wilson was less than pleased with veteran defensemen Bobby Dollas and Kurvers, who left the front of the net just before Calgary scored one of its goals. He also said his team is not in shape, and if the Ducks aren’t in shape, they can’t wear anyone down with a physical game.

“We got fragile and we broke down,” he said. “I thought we played fine for 30 minutes.”

The Ducks didn’t get a shot on goal until more than 10 minutes into the game and managed only four in the first period for the second consecutive game.

The Flames weren’t much better than the Ducks in the first period, managing only four shots themselves--and a draw was fine with the Ducks.

But Calgary scored three times in the second period--twice in 44 seconds.

Center Joe Nieuwendyk was questionable for the game because of back spasms, but he got the second assist on Wes Walz’s power-play goal at 8:12 of the second, then scored himself at 8:56, giving Calgary a 2-0 lead.

Fleury made it 3-0 at 15:58 when Robert Reichel got the puck behind the net and gave it to Fleury, who was open in front as he cut across the crease.

The Ducks broke a scoreless streak of 112:41 when rookie Steve Rucchin scored his first NHL goal at 9:44 of the third.

They were still a long way from the team record of 200:26 set last March when they were shut out three games in a row.