Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad for Mighty Ducks

Remember the Mighty Ducks?

Remember Paul Kariya?

The good news these days is that Kariya’s head has cleared enough so that he remembers who Paul Kariya is.

For the rest of us, it’s as though Kariya and the Ducks have slipped from our minds.

They just came back from a seven-game trip in which they played some of their best hockey of the season. Teemu Selanne scored his 50th goal (of the season--it only seemed like he had 50 on the trip).

But they happened to do it back East, which meant the games were shown on local television while you were stuck in afternoon traffic. And they were going up against only the most exciting NCAA basketball tournament ever.

As soon as you stop wondering where the Ducks have been the last couple of weeks and see the results of their 3-2-2 trip, you wonder where this type of effort has been all season.

“We had our backs against the wall,” Coach Pierre Page explained. “The players just found ways.”

Maybe the Ducks should just play more road games. They’ve won at a .446 clip on the road, compared to their .361 winning percentage at home.

Well, they’re back at the Arrowhead Pond tonight for their first home game since March 15--and they must take second billing to their Disney brethren across the freeway.

The Angels have hope and a reconstructed ballpark. All the Ducks have is what goaltender Guy Hebert generously called “a reasonable shot at the playoffs.”

Nine points out of the final playoff spot with nine games to play, the Ducks’ chances are more mathematical than reasonable at this point. That won’t inspire many people to come to the Pond.

Only a couple of people were in the seats there Tuesday morning to see the best sight in two months: Kariya, in uniform, skating, holding a hockey stick.

OK, so it was only for a few light moments after the team photo shoot, but it sure beats watching replays of the Feb. 1 cross check by Gary Suter that gave Kariya a concussion.

When Selanne saw reporters gathered around Kariya’s locker after practice, he called out, “Big No. 9 is baaaaack!”

Selanne’s always in a better mood when Kariya is around. Maybe he should tape a picture of Paul to his stick when he skates.

Actually, the whole team is in a good mood these days.

“Guys are excited, enthusiastic,” said goaltender Guy Hebert, who stayed home with a shoulder injury. “A lot more positive than when I was last in the locker room. If you don’t make the playoffs or whatever, you still need something to build off of for next season.

“I know it’s tough to be sitting here [with] nine games left in the year and not knowing if you’re in the playoffs and thinking about something positive for next year. But as you all know, summer goes by pretty quick and before you know it you’re talking training camp.”

Actually, if the Ducks start playing too well down the stretch it could be a bad thing. It would give management the idea that everything’s fine with the team.

The Ducks still need another consistent scoring line to back up that awesome (when healthy) first line. They need more toughness, someone who will make sure no one messes with Kariya and Selanne.

They made a flurry of moves in March, but it wasn’t in time to salvage this season.

“I’m just walking around trying to figure out who’s who,” Hebert said. “Talk about some serious changes in one year’s time. I thought there was a lot of changes in the last five. This year there’s been just a whirlwind of activity. Maybe they have the mix right now that they’re looking for.”

Defenseman Jamie Pushor and center Josef Marha, acquired in deals on the March 24 trading deadline, have done well so far. It’s time for the Ducks to make impact moves, not deal with draft picks and minor leaguers who might or might not work out down the road.

“We’ve already done that growing,” Hebert said. “But I think they brought in young guys that can play right now, and that’s the key. I’ve been asking for a big, physical defenseman for five years, and I think Jamie kind of fits that mode.”

The Ducks need more than kind of, they need definitely.

They need a whole season of Kariya, who managed only 22 games between his holdout and his injury.

“It hasn’t been a banner year, for sure,” he said.

There won’t be any banners raised at the Pond, either.

Time to start thinking about pennants.