Red Wings Continue to Feast on Ducks

Good against the middle of the pack is one thing. Good against the Stanley Cup champions is another, as the Mighty Ducks learned again from the Detroit Red Wings in a 4-3 loss Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.

The Ducks have lost twice in the past seven games and the Red Wings stuck it to them both times.

This one was hardly the mismatch the Red Wings’ 4-1 romp was Oct. 22 at the Pond. But the bottom line was identical: another loss to Detroit.

Certainly, the Ducks might have measured up Sunday if not for their sudden inability to kill penalties effectively. Or more to the point, perhaps they would have been better off staying out of the penalty box.

Three of Detroit’s four goals came with a man advantage. The Ducks scored their goals at even strength, including Teemu Selanne’s 10th in seven games.

“I thought we did some good things,” Coach Pierre Page said.

There simply weren’t enough of them to keep pace with Detroit, and the Ducks left for home with bittersweet feelings about their 2-1-2 trip.

“It wasn’t bad,” Page said of games against the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and the Red Wings. “We picked up a lot of points, but we need a couple of good practices and we’ll play more consistently.”

Signing free agent Paul Kariya also would probably give Page the more well-rounded look he has been searching for since the season began. The Ducks simply aren’t as effective or as dangerous without Kariya, the NHL’s third-leading scorer last season with 44 goals and 99 points.

Selanne has shouldered the offensive burden during his torrid streak, but as Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman pointed out, “They’re maybe the best one-two combination in the league.’

“I think Selanne has adjusted pretty well to not having Kariya,” Bowman added. “The Ducks are going to be a pretty tough team to beat. They’re going to have a pretty good mix if they get Kariya back.

“That’s a big if.”

Although General Manager Jack Ferreira and Kariya’s agent, Don Baizley, have stayed in closer contact recently, there is little to indicate a deal will be struck soon.

Ferreira says Baizley has yet to make a counteroffer to the Ducks’ most recent proposal of $7 million a season.

Kariya’s absence makes the Ducks’ successful trip and their 5-5-4 overall record all the more remarkable.

“This could go on a while,” winger Warren Rychel said. “We’ve got to think of it like a playoff series. It’s like Paul got hurt and we’ve got to go on playing without him.”

There were plenty of signs during the past five games that the Ducks have adapted to Kariya’s absence.

Their goaltending has been sharp. Their defense has been stingy. Their penalty-killing unit has been among the league’s best.

And Selanne was magnificent again Sunday, scoring his 11th goal on a shot from a sharp angle near the right goalpost. Steve Rucchin and Dmitri Mironov had the Ducks’ other goals.

“It’s so easy to say, ‘OK, so we lost to Detroit,’ ” said Selanne, who assisted on Mironov’s goal. “Sooner or later, we’re going to learn to beat those guys. We’ll get our power play better. Our penalty-killing has been excellent except for tonight. We can do things a little bit better.”

Sunday, the Ducks certainly could have moved the puck more effectively while short-handed. Although the Duck penalty-killing unit went into the game with a 91.8% success rate (second in the NHL), it seemed to falter when it came time to clear the puck out of the zone.

Darren McCarty scored Detroit’s first goal after the Ducks failed to clear a loose puck and Brendan Shanahan scored what turned out to be the game-winner after another turnover.

Other than that, the Ducks played the Red Wings evenly.

“It was a great road trip, but we have to forget about it now,” Selanne said. “We can’t be too satisfied now. We have to be hungry again Wednesday.”

The Ducks play the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday at the Pond.