Ducks Get Defense but Not Scoring

The Mighty Ducks know they need to “batten down the hatches” and play defensive hockey as long as Paul Kariya’s not in the lineup.

But too often, the floodgates have been opening instead.

The Ducks made some progress Saturday night, trailing by one goal until an empty-net goal in the final minute of a 4-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in front of 14,492 at America West Arena.

“They didn’t have very many scoring chances. We did a great job defensively,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said.

On the other hand, Phoenix managed to shut out Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri for the first time this season, and a power play that had been clicking went 0 for 5.

Without the trade between the Ducks and Winnipeg last season, Selanne would have been a Coyote himself. As it was, it meant little.

“It was nothing special,” Selanne said. “If [the game] was in Winnipeg I would have been real nervous about it. It was normal.”

It was only the Coyotes’ second home game since moving from Winnipeg, and the high-energy crowd howled at every cue.

The Ducks trailed, 3-1, after Mike Stapleton scored at 5:10 of the third on a backhander from the slot.

But midway through the final period, it was as if the Ducks’ trusty alarm clock sounded. Two nights earlier, they scored four goals in the final 10 minutes against Colorado to salvage a 6-6 tie.

This time, Roman Oksiuta scored to make it 3-2 with 10 minutes left, taking the puck off the boards and slinging a shot toward the net that went in off Darcy Wakaluk’s pads.

It went no further this time, even though Selanne and Garry Valk both had good chances.

Mikhail Shtalenkov started in goal for the Ducks, an easy-to-defend decision for Wilson since Shtalenkov shut out Chicago in his only appearance of the season.

Regular starter Guy Hebert has given up an average of more than five goals a game with a save percentage of .846, a far cry from his usual .900-plus.

It hasn’t been all Hebert’s fault, by a long shot, with a shaky defense in front of him. Nevertheless, Hebert hasn’t carried over his preseason sharpness.

Shtalenkov, on the other hand, probably would have started the game following his shutout Wednesday as a reward if it hadn’t been a back-to-back situation with the Ducks facing Colorado on Thursday.

The Ducks kept the Coyotes’ shots down, much as they did against the Blackhawks, allowing only 22 against Phoenix.

The first goal Shtalenkov gave up Saturday came on Mike Eastwood’s deflection of a point shot on a power play. Eastwood won a draw from Jari Kurri, then whirled into position to tip Brad McCrimmon’s shot, diverting it past Shtalenkov 11:55 into the game.

Another Phoenix goal was disallowed because of a rule that allows a linesman to alert the referee to a stick-related infraction at the next stoppage of play. It was a painful application of the rule for Phoenix, which saw a goal by Shane Doan wiped out because McCrimmon had high-sticked Selanne at the other end of the ice earlier.

Instead of having a 2-0 lead, the Coyotes were killing off a four-minute Anaheim power play--though it was a strikingly ineffective attempt by the Ducks.

Still, they evened the score, 1-1, 7:27 into the second period after Ted Drury made a diving play to push the puck ahead for Joe Sacco, who chased it down coming down the left wing and rifled a shot past Wakaluk. The goal was Sacco’s first of the season.

Drury, acquired in a trade with Ottawa just before the season, has been a valuable addition, and he and Kevin Todd, picked up off waivers before the first game, have probably been the Ducks’ best forwards other than Selanne and Kurri. Todd has two goals and four assists, and Drury has a goal and three assists.

The Coyotes’ second goal was scored by Mike Gartner in a scramble in front of the net after Valeri Karpov couldn’t clear a loose puck and teammate Steve Rucchin fell onto Shtalenkov.

Gartner, who turns 37 on Oct. 29, has five goals in his first four games.