Duck Is a Target to Oilers : Hockey: Hebert plays downrange in Edmonton shooting gallery, turning back 43 shots in 2-0 loss.

It’s a rare thing for the losing goaltender in a shutout to be the game’s No. 1 star--and rarer still when the losing trainer deserves to be No. 2.

The struggling Mighty Ducks--who have scored only one goal over their last three games--lost Sunday afternoon for the sixth time in seven games when Edmonton’s Bill Ranford shut them out, 2-0, in front of 12,487 at the Edmonton Coliseum.

Ranford made 29 saves for his ninth career shutout. But the Ducks’ Guy Hebert stopped 43 of 44 shots before watching from the bench as the Oilers scored a very odd empty-net goal with 48 seconds left when Scott Thornton blocked a shot by Duck winger Garry Valk and it caromed all the way into the open net on the other end of the ice.

“It was a snap shot that goes off they guy’s skate and all the way to the other end,” Valk said, still incredulous after the game. “You’ve got to mark that up to the great ice in Edmonton. In Anaheim, that puck would die at the red line.”

It was a fitting end for the Ducks, who are mired in the worst slump since a six-game losing streak early last season.

They started the game without rookie star Paul Kariya, who has a sore back and will undergo X-rays today. The team is hopeful he is merely suffering from either back spasms or a bruise.

Before the game was over, trainer Blynn DeNiro had climbed over the boards more times than captain Randy Ladouceur, who did not return after suffering a slight concussion in the first period when he was driven into the boards.

Teammate Bob Corkum already had left the ice with a concussion after Edmonton’s Bryan Marchment elbowed him in the head as they collided at 4:04 of the first period. Corkum returned for the final two periods. Defenseman Robert Dirk and center Anatoli Semenov went down and required DeNiro’s attention too, but were able to return.

DeNiro barely made it through the afternoon himself, stumbling to the ice as he came over the boards to tend to Corkum. He left the building with a strawberry on his chin.

“I tripped over the TV cable,” DeNiro said. “I’m down with Corkum and I’m going, ‘Bob, are you OK?’ while I’m dabbing my chin.”

Ladouceur was kept out because he couldn’t smell and his sense of time was poor. But if Ladouceur can’t remember much about this game, all the better.

The Ducks were outshot 35-9 over the first two periods and extended their streak to 25 power-play opportunities without a goal. At 4 for 46, they have the worst power play in the NHL.

Marchment received a major penalty for injuring Corkum, but the Ducks might as well have skated five on five. They managed only two shots during the five-minute power play--and allowed five, forcing Hebert to get used to what was to be a long day.

His 43 saves were the most of his career, breaking the record of 41 set last April 6 in a 4-2 loss at Calgary. “It’s frustrating, you see him back there blocking shots left and right with his skates and it definitely makes you feel like you owe him a goal, for crying out loud,” said right wing Peter Douris, who had a couple of the Ducks’ best opportunities. One came in the first when defenseman Tom Kurvers passed him the puck in front of the net with Ranford moving across. But Douris barely got his stick on it, and Ranford made a a diving save. Then at the very end, he was in the slot in front of a nearly open net but couldn’t get his stick on the puck.

Hebert’s only mistake came on Kelly Buchberger’s shot from the left of the slot at 12:35 of the first. Hebert kept his feet and the puck went between his pads, hitting the net just inside the far goal post.

“It was kind of a fluky thing,” Hebert said. “I didn’t pick it up very well. Most time goalies will go into a butterfly but I wanted to stay on my feet unless he tried a trailer. Maybe I got caught thinking too much.”

Douris scored what would have been the game-tying goal in the second period, but it was disallowed by referee Mick McGeough, who ruled that Corkum had left the bench well before Hebert. McGeough was within five feet of the bench. Hebert was trying to get off for an extra attacker on a delayed penalty.

“It wasn’t a factor, the puck was in the net before I had taken one or two strides,” Corkum said.

Coach Ron Wilson admitted players are rarely called for leaving the bench early though they often do. He objected because he thought the puck had crossed the line before McGeough blew his whistle, but “when you’re struggling, that’s the way it goes.”

When Edmonton toned down its forechecking and played more conservatively on defense in the final period, the Ducks managed 20 shots, but they couldn’t put it past Ranford.

Rookie center Steve Rucchin was one of many who had a good chance in the late going, along with Douris, Corkum and Tim Sweeney. Rucchin got the puck at the corner of the net on a pass from Robert Dirk.

“He made a hell of a pass. The puck was down around my skates and I forced a shot, right into his chest,” Rucchin said. “A game like that, something’s got to go in. Myself and Dave Williams, we kept banging. It was rolling up his arm. It wouldn’t go in.”