Road Trip Crucial to Playoff Hopes

The Ducks have won only seven games on the road this season, and a crucial stretch lies ahead.

They leave today for a four-game trip that begins Tuesday against the New York Islanders and play six of their next eight on the road, although four of them are against teams with losing records.

“Road games are going to be a big thing for us now, and we still have a long six-game road trip coming,” right wing Teemu Selanne said. “Every point is important. There are so many teams within four or five points of each other.”

The Ducks have played fewer games away from home than any other Western Conference team, and 17 of their final 31 are on the road, where they are 7-13-4.

“Especially on the road, you have to play so smart,” Selanne said. “We have to try to shut down the goals against, and our special teams--the power play and penalty kill--have to do well. Each player, every line has to do their job.”

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Forward Ted Drury is probably out for at least two weeks after fracturing his right wrist against Hartford on Friday. . . . Center Kevin Todd, who has gone 24 games without a goal, has tendinitis in his left elbow and sat out Sunday’s game. . . . Right wing Joe Sacco returned after sitting out four games because of strained chest muscles. . . . The only healthy scratch was right wing Frank Banham.

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Right winger Valeri Karpov has a point in all eight games since the Ducks shifted him from the American Hockey League’s Baltimore Bandits to the International Hockey League’s Long Beach Ice Dogs Jan. 13. Karpov had two assists Sunday in the Ice Dogs’ 6-0 victory over the Phoenix Roadrunners. He has five goals and eight assists as an Ice Dog.