Ducks Find Hope in Goal Drought

It’s a measure of just how bad the Mighty Ducks have been that a 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday was somehow . . . comforting.

So intent were the Ducks on plugging the gaping holes in their defense that they sat back and forgot to shoot the puck, tying the club record for fewest shots in a period (one in the first) and matching the record for fewest shots in a game (12).

Ron Hextall made the 12 saves required for the 15th shutout of his NHL career, and the first against the Ducks since Chicago’s Jeff Hackett did it last Jan. 12, 3-0.

And yet, incredibly, it was progress.

The Ducks--1-6-2 with a five-game losing streak--entered the game having given up more goals than any other team in the NHL.

But they managed to hold an opponent to less than four goals for only the second time this season, and didn’t allow a short-handed goal for the first time in three games.

And until the final minute of the second period, they trailed, 1-0, in front of 18,812 in Philadelphia’s CoreStates Center.

“To come in and score two goals and have them score six wouldn’t be the right approach for us,” said Duck Coach Ron Wilson, who at the morning practice preached short, safe passes and defense above all else.

“Defensively, we did a very good job as a team limiting their chances,” Wilson said. “We just made a couple of mistakes around the net and their skill people put the puck away. It’s a baby steps kind of approach. We’re got to re-center ourselves defensively.”

Shjon Podein, Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Desjardins scored for the Flyers, who improved to 5-4 without Eric Lindros, out because of a groin injury. Duck goalie Guy Hebert was sharp in making 23 saves, giving way to Mikhail Shtalenkov for about two minutes in the third in a stalling tactic by Wilson.

The Ducks are not a team that should be shut out, even without injured star Paul Kariya. In Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri, the Ducks have two former 70-goal scorers. But Kurri has gone five games without a goal and Selanne has only one goal in the last five after scoring four in the first four games and assisting on six others.

“It boils down to our confidence level being way down,” said left wing Garry Valk, whose breakout pass during a short-handed situation was stolen by Desjardins for the Flyers’ third goal. “One shot in the first period isn’t enough. Ever.

“Everybody’s down. Teemu, his job is to get goals and we’re not getting the job done,” Valk said. “Teemu feels the pressure. The coaches expect a lot from him as they expect a lot from all of us.”

Wilson sees a team afraid to shoot, especially the gun-shy defense.

“I say ‘Dump the puck in,’ and we could be on a breakaway and we’d dump it in,” he said in exasperation.

Kurri, the 16-year veteran, said this week that the Ducks must get back to basics. “There isn’t any magic wand or magic trick.”

Management started by calling up rookie defenseman Nikolai Tsulygin and inserting him in the lineup with Jason Marshall, his former defense partner in the minors.

“It was a message that our defense hasn’t been playing very well and Nikolai deserved an opportunity,” Wilson said.

The Ducks’ coach set a new strategy before Tuesday’s game: Simplicity and safety.

“It might be ugly, and it might not be successful at first, but eventually it will be successful,” he said.

One way or another, the Ducks have to rebuild their shattered confidence.

“I was using a golf analogy with the team,” Wilson said. “It’s like every time we have a five-foot putt, we’re hoping the other team’s going to say, ‘It’s good,’ and give it to us. We don’t have any confidence from five feet, so we’ve got to sink some one-footers.”

Tuesday was a start.