Ducks Find Themselves Back in the Pressure Cooker

Every time the Mighty Ducks seemed cooked this season, it turned out they weren’t quite done.

But can they pull the fat out of the fire in Game 6 on Sunday in Phoenix, forcing a decisive seventh game Tuesday in Anaheim, then win that one too?

That’s what it will take to avoid losing to the Coyotes in their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series after a defensive collapse in Game 5 on Thursday, a 5-2 loss at the Pond.

“We lost the battles, and in the playoffs you can’t lose the battles,” said Jari Kurri, a veteran of 190 postseason games. “We’ve got to learn from our mistakes.”

The momentum of the series swung forcefully toward Phoenix in Game 5, but it would swing just as hard back toward the Ducks if they could beat the Coyotes before the howling crowd at America West Arena.

Statistically, the Ducks’ situation isn’t as grim as it might seem. Since 1967-68, 34% of teams that faced elimination in Game 6--27 of 79--have gone on to win the series, and at least one team in each of the last 10 years has come back to win after trailing in the series, 3-2.

Two playoff series went seven games last season, and in both, the team that saved itself in Game 6 won Game 7 as well. Detroit came back against St. Louis in the Western Conference semifinals, and Florida did the same to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes are trying to take their place among the 15% of teams that come back and win after losing the first two games.

“It was a big win, but by no means do we have anything won,” the Coyotes’ Jeremy Roenick said after Thursday’s game. “We better be ready to play or we will be coming back [to Anaheim], which none of us wants to do.”

The issue for the Ducks is whether they can recover from the emotional impact of Thursday’s loss--coupled with the psychological hangover left by their controversial disallowed goal in Game 4.

But it’s exactly the sort of crisis they have responded to all season.

Dead in the water after a 1-8-2 start without Paul Kariya, they came back to finish ninth in the NHL.

Then, late in the season, with goalie Guy Hebert suffering from exhaustion and Teemu Selanne out because of a strained muscle, Coach Ron Wilson pulled out his “Remember Your Dreams” speech and the Ducks won on the road in Chicago and Detroit, saving their playoff chances.

“When your back’s against the wall, you come up with new things,” Kariya said before the series began. “That’s the time [Wilson] is most effective.”

Wilson proved himself as a big-game coach in the World Cup, but now it’s up to him to get the Ducks better prepared for Game 6 than they were for Game 5.

So far, Phoenix has played with more poise and persistence--probably the result of the Coyotes’ depth and experience as well as the demeanor of rookie Coach Don Hay, a former firefighter who has stayed calm through every crisis and every disallowed goal.

The Ducks have had the letdowns.

Their three losses have come as the result of three lapses--and the smothering defense on Kariya and Selanne.

“We’re learning a lesson, unfortunately the hard way, about what it takes to be successful in the playoffs,” Wilson said.

There was the bad first period in Game 3 at Phoenix when the Coyotes, bolstered by the crowd, jumped on the Ducks for a 3-0 lead in a game that ended in a 4-1 Duck loss.

Then the Ducks couldn’t recover from the disallowed goal in Game 4 that would have broken a scoreless tie. They gave up the winning goal 47 seconds later and lost, 2-0.

Wilson believes he should have done more to settle his team.

“I should have called a timeout and controlled myself,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with arguing with the ref. . . . [But] it’s my fault. I didn’t get the team thinking the way I should have.”

After two days of rehashing the NHL’s use of video review to enforce the rule against players in the goalie’s crease, the Ducks didn’t play well in Game 5.

Their vulnerable defense came undone and Phoenix scored twice in the second period to take a lead the Coyotes never gave up.

Now the Ducks have lost three consecutive games for the first time since the beginning of February, they’re on the ropes and on the road for Game 6.

“I actually think we’ve played our best hockey in Phoenix,” Wilson said. “If you analyze it on TV, without the sound on, without the crowd noise and the announcers, Game 4 was our best of the series from beginning to end.”

Game 4 might also have been the beginning of the end.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

MIGHTY DUCKS vs. PHOENIX

* Game 1: Mighty Ducks, 4-2

* Game 2: Mighty Ducks, 4-2

* Game 3: Coyotes, 4-1

* Game 4: Coyotes, 2-0

* Game 5: Coyotes, 5-2

* Sunday: at Phoenix, noon

* Tuesday: Pond, 7:30 p.m.*

* if necessary