Mighty Ducks See Early Lead Quickly Melt : Hockey: Their 2-0 advantage in the season opener turns into a 4-3 loss to the Jets in Winnipeg.

The Mighty Ducks were one of the last NHL teams to start the season, and they were ready--at least for a short while.

Less than three minutes into their first game Monday night, the Ducks had a two-goal lead over the Winnipeg Jets.

But that was as good as it got.

The Ducks ended up with their third season-opening loss in three tries when the Jets took advantage of faltering defensive play and beat them, 4-3, after Igor Korolev’s shot from close range hit the crossbar and fell in over the goal line at 13:57 of the third period.

“I wish we hadn’t started as quickly as we did,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “It gave us a false sense of security. With a young team, you’re going to get a little loose when that happens.”

Rookie mistakes didn’t cost them the game, though.

“We had some defensive zone breakdowns,” Wilson said. “I thought our ‘D’ looked very tentative going back for the puck, and some guys didn’t want to go after it at all. We’ve got to show a lot more competitiveness.”

By midway through the second period, the Ducks’ lead was gone. Still, center Steve Rucchin pulled them back into a 3-3 tie when he scored on a wraparound off a pass from defenseman Milos Holan on a power play at 2:24 of the third.

But late in the game, with the possibility of overtime looming, Holan and center Mike Sillinger both chased Teemu Selanne behind the Ducks’ net, leaving too much open space in front of the net for Korolev, who put a rebound in from the right crease.

Holan, who was on the ice for three of the Jets’ goals, “struggled tonight,” Wilson said.

Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert had preserved the tie by stopping Alexei Zhamnov on a two-on-one earlier in the period, but he couldn’t stop Korolev.

“I don’t know how much room he had, I took away as much as I possibly could,” Hebert said. “I had time to stack my pads and get my hand and glove as high as I could. I saw the puck go up and hit the crossbar and I thought it was out of the rink. I was sadly disappointed by the reaction of the crowd.”

It wasn’t much of a crowd, at 7,856. The Jets are likely leaving the city after this season and were encouraged by an opening-night crowd of 13,914 Saturday. But Monday was Canada’s Thanksgiving holiday and there was a Canadian Football League game between Winnipeg and Toronto on television.

The Ducks regarded the loss as a typical first-game experience, as did rookie Chad Kilger, who made his NHL debut.

“It was good getting the first one over with,” said the 18-year-old, who despite a performance Wilson graded “average,” recorded an assist on his first NHL shift, when Paul Kariya sprinted down the right wing boards and beat goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with a shot from the top of the circle 1:24 into the game.

“He looked nervous, he looked tight,” Wilson said. “That’s to be expected. He’s 18 and he steps on the ice and there are some of the guys he’s been watching on TV. . . . He’s going to play a lot better.”

Sillinger increased the Ducks’ lead to 2-0 at 2:44 of the first when he put a power-play rebound into a nearly open net.

The Ducks and Vancouver Canucks were the last teams to play their first game. Even 13-year veteran defenseman Randy Ladouceur said that’s not to be discounted.

“I’ve played 850 games, and still the first one of the season, you’re a little nervous,” he said. “It’s a brand new season and you want to get off to a good start.”

The Ducks’ defense, however, did not and Hebert thought the new obstruction rules had an effect.

“People have been taught to tie guys up in front of the net but then they think, ‘I don’t want to get a penalty’ and they only half tie him up and he gets a whack at the puck,” said Hebert, who made 25 saves.

Duck Notes

Returning to the scene of his accident didn’t bother defenseman Don McSween. Last Jan. 21, he suffered nerve and tendon damage in his right wrist when cut by a skate blade in front of the visitors’ bench at Winnipeg Arena. “Just another city, another rink,” said McSween, who is on injured reserve while he continues to rehabilitate his hand. “It was disturbing at the time. I kind of panicked.”