Ducks Burned by Canucks in Home Opener : Hockey: Three goals in the final 10 minutes seal their fate in 5-1 loss to Vancouver.

The Mighty Ducks’ mascot fell on his face and went down in flames before the home opener Wednesday night, and then the Ducks followed suit.

Wild Wing, the mascot, was supposed to leap through a wall of fire during the pregame show but instead mis-stepped on a small trampoline and fell into the flames. The fire went out immediately and the mascot was quickly aided, but shortly afterward, a Duck spokesman responded with the sort of injury report typically reserved for players: “Bruised knee, ankle and wrist. He will return.”

The Ducks went on to lose to the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1, allowing three goals in the final 10 minutes before a crowd of 17,174 at The Pond of Anaheim. It was their fourth loss in five games.

Only a goal by Paul Kariya at 1:54 of the final period spoiled Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean’s shutout bid. The goal was Kariya’s fifth in five games this season, and it came after almost every Duck on the ice touched the puck to keep the play alive, with Kariya finally scoring when it slipped through the slot to him on the left side of the goal and he knocked it into the upper right-hand corner of the net.

Otherwise, it wasn’t much of an outing for the Ducks, who went 0 for 5 on the power play and drew a few boos from their usually undemanding crowd.

“I’m definitely disappointed in seven or eight guys,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole, but we were still close enough to respond. The last two goals, I’m really disappointed in our forwards.”

McLean finished with 36 saves, and he probably earned the victory in one third-period flurry alone, holding off the Ducks as they took six swipes at the puck after Shaun Van Allen and Mike Sillinger swept in on a two-on-one.

McLean soon got some breathing room when Alexander Mogilny scored on a picture-perfect play at 12:53 of the final period, putting Roman Oksiuta’s pass through the crease into a nearly empty net with goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov hugging the left post to foil Oksiuta.

Mogilny scored again on a breakaway in the final minute, getting his second goal of the game and seventh of the young season. Defenseman Jeff Brown scored the Canucks’ other third-period goal on a point shot at 17:39.

With the off-season addition of Mogilny to a lineup that already included Pavel Bure, Wilson could hardly decide who’s more dangerous. He proved right in deciding that third-line center Trevor Linden might actually be one key. It was Linden who gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 14:35 of the first period, stickhandling through the neutral zone and skating around defenseman David Karpa before beating Shtalenkov between the pads.

In a mild surprise, Wilson went with backup goalie Shtalenkov in the home-opener instead of No. 1 Guy Hebert.

“Why not?” Wilson said. “It’s our home opener but we’ve already played four games. Our approach to the game shouldn’t be any different.”

Wilson’s move was typical of his approach of not hesitating to play the backup, especially if he thinks the backup is playing even marginally better. It’s a philosophy that Wilson admits “grates on Guy’s nerves,” but it’s one Hebert has grown accustomed to.

“I think I’m already used to it,” Hebert said. “That’s why I’m not ranting and raving right now.”

Shtalenkov was in goal against Buffalo for the Ducks’ only victory and allowed only one goal. Hebert’s stats in three losses have been unspectacular--a 4.02 goals-against average and a .865 save percentage--but many of the goals came on shots from the slot.

“It’s disappointing, no question,” said Hebert, who has been playing with a sore right ankle but said it hasn’t hampered his play.

“I don’t know what the coaches think of my performance so far,” Hebert said. “It could have been better, but I don’t think I’m solely responsible for the losses. I thought I played pretty well.”

Duck Notes

It was the first meeting of the season between the Ducks and Canucks, who might open next season with a two-game series in Japan. One Duck official said he is 90% certain it will happen, and General Manager Jack Ferreira is thinking of holding part of training camp in Hawaii to ease travel stress. . . . The Montreal Canadiens hadn’t sought permission to speak to the Ducks’ Pierre Gauthier by the end of the day Wednesday, leading Ferreira to believe they probably won’t.