THEY’RE HURTING : End of Journey Might Be Near for Hobbled Ducks

The yellow brick road ends here.

Coach Ron Wilson of the Mighty Ducks has done a fine job in getting his team this far, effectively using the movie “The Wizard of Oz” to play on the theme of finding strength from within. But character can carry the Ducks only so far.

The Red Wings also have character and strength, determination and size. All the wishing in the world won’t make the Ducks deeper up front by Game 3 tonight at the Pond.

Yes, the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series were decided in overtime. But that was because the Ducks played the best they could. The Red Wings have yet to peak, but they still won those games for a commanding lead in this best-of-seven series.

The Ducks approach Game 3 knowing right wing Teemu Selanne will probably be hobbled because of a slash he took on the back of his leg Sunday during the first overtime of their 3-2 triple-overtime loss at Detroit. Goaltender Guy Hebert left that game because of a strained groin muscle and he will miss tonight’s game. Mikhail Shtalenkov is a capable replacement, but Hebert is the guy who got the Ducks here.

The Ducks’ margin for error is perilously thin. With Selanne at less than maximum efficiency, their offense is seriously depleted. Paul Kariya, who has played splendidly game after game, can’t do it alone. By contrast, Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman has the luxury of rolling four lines that can score or check, as required. Bowman also has a more experienced defense corps than the Ducks, who have lost David Karpa for the series.

Understandably, Wilson tried to put as positive a spin as possible on the first two games.

“We’re down, 2-0, and we’ve given a heck of an effort both nights,” he said. “We know we can play with them. On the first goal [Sunday], we knocked it into our own net. We had some bad breaks.

“The only thing we came up short in is the win area.”

Oh, that.

The shift to Anaheim gives Wilson more optimism.

“We’ll pick up the tempo and the fans will be behind us,” he said.

There may be no place like home, as Dorothy discovered in Wilson’s favorite movie, but she had Auntie Em waiting for her. The Ducks come home to face Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Vladimir Konstantinov. Not a Munchkin among them.

AT FACE VALUE

A glance at Red Wing center Kris Draper’s face detects nothing unusual for a player still playing at this time of year. He has an assortment of cuts and a shiner under his left eye, but there’s no other sign of the trauma he endured during last season’s conference final, when he was checked from behind by Colorado winger Claude Lemieux and suffered extensive facial injuries.

“My jaw was wired shut for three weeks,” Draper said. “I lost 15 or 16 pounds. All I ate was milkshakes or stuff out of the blender. I haven’t had a milkshake since.”

But he is no less aggressive, no more hesitant to hit or be hit. Nor does he wear a face shield.

“That’s forgotten,” he said of his misfortune. “I’ve overcome that. I just understand it’s part of the game. I didn’t have any flashbacks.”

Nor did he flinch at contact when he returned.

“I don’t think so. I never had any instances where my feet slowed up,” he said. “I can’t do that. Being physical is obviously a big part of my game. I can’t rely on my goal scoring or finesse, so I just go out there and crash and bang and do what I can.”

HE’S BACK . . . MAYBE

Mike Keenan, fired by the St. Louis Blues earlier this season, lunched with Mike O’Connell, the Boston Bruin assistant general manager, to discuss the vacant coaching job. Although he’s openly eager to get the job, it’s difficult to imagine O’Connell or General Manager Harry Sinden hiring someone with Keenan’s naked ambition and his habit of overspending on players.

The first candidate, Boston University Coach Jack Parker, is likely to stay in the college ranks because he has more security than he would with the rebuilding Bruins. New Jersey assistant coach Robbie Ftorek may also be a candidate, although the Devils are reluctant to let him go. Jeff Jackson, head of USA Hockey’s new development program, may also be a possibility.

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Edmonton General Manager Glen Sather, who left Colorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy off Team Canada in last year’s World Cup, still isn’t a Roy fan.

He insists Roy’s shoulder and elbow pads are oversized, although those items are not measured and policed, as are legs pads. Roy, who acknowledged earlier this season he was still angry over the World Cup snub, wasn’t pleased.

“That’s why I love Glen Sather,” he said. “He should call [NHL Senior Vice President] Brian Burke and maybe apply for that job, too. He doesn’t have enough to do just working for the Oilers.”

Sather is more eager to annoy Roy and throw him off his game than he is to standardize goalie equipment. Sather once studied child psychology. He’s a master at mind games.

RETURN OF BURNS?

Pat Burns, who coached the Montreal Canadiens from 1988-89 through 1991-92, hasn’t been shy about saying he’d love another chance to stand behind the Canadien bench and replace Mario Tremblay, who resigned last week. His agent has already contacted General Manager Rejean Houle.

“Yes, I’m interested in getting back into the NHL,” Burns said in a column he writes for a newspaper in Quebec City. “The Canadiens know me, they know my address and telephone number. If they want to talk to me, they know where I am.”

Yes, but where are they? In a mess, that’s where.

Tremblay cited family reasons for resigning, saying his wife and daughters were too somber when the Canadiens were eliminated by New Jersey in the first round.

“I wanted to see them smile again, so I decided to leave,” said Tremblay, who will be paid $300,000 not to coach next season.

The truth is, he was completely unqualified to coach and was unable to impose order on his defense.

SLAP SHOTS

The usual three-year waiting period for Hall of Fame admission is likely to be waived for Mario Lemieux, who retired after the Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. The honor of quick admission was bestowed on Bobby Orr.

New York Ranger center Mark Messier broke Larry Robinson’s record for most playoff appearances Sunday when he played in his 228th game. . . . The Rangers have lost the opener in their last eight playoff series. They have come back to win five of their previous seven series.

Goalies recorded a record number of shutouts in the regular season, and that will be the case in the playoffs, too. Teams registered 13 shutouts in the first round, a record for one round and only three short of the record for an entire playoff year, set in 1994. There have since been two more, in the New York-New Jersey series.

Buffalo Sabre forward Matthew Barnaby puts his teeth where his allegiance is. Barnaby had a Sabre logo engraved on one of his front teeth and vowed to add a logo every round the Sabres are in the playoffs.

Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek said his sprained knee wasn’t strong enough for him to have played the first three games against Philadelphia, even if he hadn’t been suspended three games by the NHL for attacking Buffalo News reporter Jim Kelley. “The doctors gave me clearance to go out on the ice [for practice] but it’s a little stiff,” he said during Game 1. He also seemed contrite about his misdeed. “It’s a big lesson for me,” he said. “If somebody says about you what you know is not true you cannot handle it the way I did.”