Ringing Memories for Sandstrom

The Ducks’ team bus rolled toward downtown Detroit and Joe Louis Arena, but Tomas Sandstrom felt no chills up and down his spine Saturday afternoon.

Maybe today, when Sandstrom gets his first look at the Stanley Cup banner he helped win for Detroit last spring, it will be different. Certainly, today’s game might be more memorable if Sandstrom were to receive his championship ring.

“Nobody’s got them yet,” said Sandstrom, who did not score a postseason goal last season for the Red Wings but was nevertheless a valued member of Detroit’s first Stanley Cup championship team since 1955.

“Just another game,” Sandstrom, who signed with the Ducks as a free agent during the off-season, said of today’s game.

“Hopefully, we can play a lot better this time than we did last week [in a 4-1 loss at the Pond]. Last time, we had played the night before in Phoenix. We’d better be ready this time. We need to do the simple things against them.”

*

Coach Pierre Page’s goaltending rotation called for Mikhail Shtalenkov to start today against the Red Wings, but Guy Hebert might get the call.

Shtalenkov is undefeated at 3-0-2 and has a 2.30 goals-against average. Hebert, who is 2-4-2 with a 2.22 goals-against average, is coming off a 3-0 victory last Thursday over the Boston Bruins.

Together they are 2-0-2 on this trip with a 1.68 goals-against average and a 94.2% save percentage.

It’s a tough call.

“I want to think about this some more,” Page said. “It’s tempting to play Hebert after a shutout.”

TONIGHT

at Detroit

* Noon PST

* Fox Sports West 2

Site--Joe Louis Arena.

Radio--KRLA (1110).

Records--Ducks 5-4-4, Red Wings 10-2-2.

Record vs. Red Wings--0-1.

Update--The Ducks need a victory or a tie today to set a team record with a six-game unbeaten streak on the road. The Ducks are 6-1-3 in their last 10 on the road, dating to last season. However, the Ducks are 1-5-2 in their history at Detroit. Right wing Teemu Selanne has nine goals in six games. Center Steve Rucchin is still seeking his first goal, but has five assists in four games since returning to the lineup after sitting out eight games because of a groin strain. The Kings ended the Red Wings’ six-game unbeaten streak with a 5-1 victory Friday night. Detroit center Sergei Fedorov, an unsigned free agent, is practicing with the CSKA club team in Moscow. Hopes for a new deal remain bleak.