Different Result Sought

There will be improvement, the Mighty Ducks hope, in their game against the New York Islanders tonight. For starters, it is the beginning of five-game trip, and the Ducks don’t need to stumble on the first step.

Add to that the Islanders’ 5-2 victory over the Ducks last Sunday.

“Maybe we can pay them back a little,” right wing Tomas Sandstrom said. “We learned that night you can’t take a night off or a shift off. If you do, you end up losing in a big way.”

Coach Pierre Page stopped short of saying his team took the Islanders lightly. But there was no denying one fact: “They came in and outplayed us from start to finish,” Page said.

*

This is the Ducks’ first extended trip. They will play the Islanders, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the next eight days.

“Going on the road could pull us together,” Page said.

“At the end of last year [with Calgary] I had the team approach each trip like it was a seven-game series. It might be a little too early for that.”

Still, after some so-so performances at home, a successful trip would be a nice lift.

“We’ve been .500 at home, and I think we were expecting more,” Sandstrom said. “It is a little easier to win on the road nowadays. When you’re on the road, you can just show and play. I think you feel a little more pressure to put on a show at home.”

One thing is certain. No one will be chanting, “We want Paul,” at the Ducks for the next eight days.

*

Right wing Joe Sacco has not scored a point in the first nine games after having 12 goals and 29 points last season. Page, though, said he was unconcerned.

“He’s probably the best penalty killer in the league,” Page said.

Of course, on the ice, Page tried to prod some offense out of Sacco by working him on the same line with Teemu Selanne and Sean Pronger in Thursday’s practice.

“We like checkers who can score,” Page said. “Joe can get 10-15 goals for us.”

TONIGHT

at New York Islanders

Noon

Site--Nassau Coliseum.

Radio--KRLA (1110).

Records--Ducks 3-4-2, Islanders 3-3-2.

Record vs. Islanders--0-1.

Update--The Ducks are off to the best start in team history, but that’s grading on a curve. The Islanders, who finished last in the Atlantic Division last season, are also off to a decent start. Islander defenseman Bryan Berard has three power-play goals this season. The Ducks are third in the league in penalty killing, but they also rank near the top in penalty minutes, averaging 22 a game. The Islanders’ Zigmund Palffy has five goals and Robert Reichel four. Selanne, with three, is the only Duck with more than two goals.