Duck Shots

A weekly update on the Mighty Ducks.

Everyone was warned the Ducks could start slowly, but no one expects a one-for-October performance. Hartford appears to be a good place to end a losing streak, but the Whalers’ Steven Rice knocks Valeri Karpov out of the game with a concussion and only Teemu Selanne displays any emotion when getting pushed around in a 4-1 loss Oct. 24. Calgary visits Sunday and takes advantage of defensive mistakes to win, 4-1. Vancouver comes in on Wednesday and overshadows the return of Paul Kariya, winning, 6-3. The Ducks reach record depths for consecutive losses (eight) and games without a victory (nine). Here’s a look at what’s ahead.

* Where they stand: 1-9-2 (four points), seventh in the Pacific Division, 13th in the Western Conference.

* Who’s hot: Kevin Todd has eight points in the last 11 games and Roman Oksiuta has five in the last seven.

* Who’s not: There is no defense for a blueline unit that cannot prevent trouble from reaching the doorstep of Guy Hebert and Mikhail Shtalenkov every game.

UPCOMING

* Tonight, San Jose (7:30, KCAL-TV Channel 9): The Sharks are 2-0-1 in their last three games. In that time, Owen Nolan has turned into a scoring machine with six goals.

* Sunday, Colorado (6 p.m., KCAL-TV): Plenty of scoring from Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg to go with the defensive unit featuring Uwe Krupp and Sandis Ozolinsh, who are a combined plus-20 through 11 games. Still, this team finds a way to lose at the Pond (0-3 last year).

* Wednesday, Montreal (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports West): Saku Koivu, Mark Recchi and Martin Rucinsky are among the league leaders in scoring. The Canadiens add heart and toughness by getting Shane Corson from St. Louis for Pierre Turgeon.