Mighty Ducks Caught in Playoff Shuffle

And so it’s come to this . . .

Six games remain in the regular season and the Mighty Ducks are edging closer to their first Stanley Cup playoff berth in their four-year history.

The aches and pains of last week eased considerably in the wake of Friday’s 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Today, the Ducks turn their attention to the Detroit Red Wings and improving their position in the Western Conference standings.

A victory today at Joe Louis Arena will give the Ducks a 3-3 record on their six-game trip to Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Chicago and Detroit.

After a week in which leading scorer Teemu Selanne and goaltender Guy Hebert were sidelined by injury and fatigue, the Ducks have at last stopped looking to see who’s trying to catch them.

“We’ve been so worried about what’s behind us that we can’t see a foot in front of us,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “The push for the last home spot [No. 4 seeding] in the playoffs more than likely will go down to the last games for everybody.”

Colorado, Dallas and Detroit have locked up the first three berths and home-ice advantage in the first round. The Ducks, Phoenix, Edmonton, Calgary, St. Louis, Chicago and Vancouver are not only battling for the remaining five berths but also the final home-ice spot.

“We’re only a point out of fourth,” Wilson said before Saturday’s games were completed.

If the playoffs had started Saturday, the sixth-place Ducks and third-place Red Wings would have been first-round opponents.

“Detroit’s focus on this game should be, ‘We’re probably playing these guys in the playoffs. We’ve got to show them we’re the better team,”’ Wilson said. “Then again, they could come out flat.”

Detroit won their past two games in overtime, including Wednesday’s fight-filled victory over Colorado. Darren McCarty achieved hero status in Detroit for pummeling Colorado’s Claude Lemieux, delivering a payback for Lemieux’s blindside hit that shattered Red Wing Kris Draper’s face during last season’s playoffs.

The Red Wings suffered no emotional letdown in defeating Buffalo, 2-1, Friday. And Wilson expects a physical game from the Red Wings.

“It’s going to be a lot like the Chicago game,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to survive the first five minutes and stay out of the penalty box for the first period. If we do that we will be OK.”

The Ducks probably will be without Selanne and Hebert again today. Selanne’s strained muscles near his left rib cage have not improved enough to enable him to play. Hebert, who missed his first start in 23 games on Friday, could use another game off to rest.

Wilson hopes they will return to the lineup when the Ducks host Chicago at the Pond Tuesday night.

“I think I’d rather wait [to get Selanne back in the lineup] until we get home,” Wilson said. “I’ll probably go with Mike [Mikhail Shtalenkov] again, but I haven’t really decided yet.”

Winning without Selanne, the league’s second-leading scorer with 47 goals and 98 points, and Hebert against Chicago marked a great leap forward for the Ducks, according to Wilson.

“It was important for the other guys to win without Teemu and Guy in the lineup,” Wilson said. “Teemu is kind of like the accelerator. The other guys usually draft along behind him. It was nice we got contributions from other people blocking a shot or taking a hit.”

On the flight to Detroit late Friday night, defenseman Bobby Dollas told Wilson he thought Chicago’s Tony Amonte and Chris Chelios looked tired.

Wilson laughed.

“Everybody’s tired right now,” Wilson told Dollas. “It’s funny you hear everybody say they’re tired, then everybody’s fresh for the playoffs. The hockey gets even more intense and everybody suddenly gets energized.”