Injury-Riddled Mighty Ducks Tie Avalanche

The Mighty Ducks played without Guy Hebert, Paul Kariya, Steve Rucchin and Teemu Selanne. And for good measure, Coach Pierre Page started rookie goaltender Tom Askey instead of veteran Mikhail Shtalenkov.

So what was the Colorado Avalanche’s excuse?

True, the Avalanche ended a six-game losing streak with a 2-2 tie against the Ducks before an announced sellout of 17,174 Monday at the Arrowhead Pond.

But listless Colorado certainly didn’t pick up any style points. And as for ending its slump, well, that’s open to debate.

Frank Banham’s goal at 13:44 of the third period enabled the Ducks to rally for a hard-earned tie against the struggling Avalanche.

The Ducks outshot Colorado, 31-25, but that was only one measure of their surprising domination.

How about frustrating goaltender Patrick Roy to the point that he took an unwise slashing penalty against energetic Duck forward Jeff Nielsen midway through the third period?

It was difficult to imagine any of it at the opening faceoff. After all, the Duck lineup resembled its minor-league affiliate in Cincinnati.

Morever, it was the first time in the franchise’s five-season history that it played with Hebert, Kariya, Rucchin and Selanne sidelined.

But what’s a coach to do when Hebert and Kariya suffered season-ending injuries several weeks ago and Rucchin and Selanne also were hurting.

Askey instead of Shtalenkov?

Better Page do it Monday against Colorado, which essentially locked up the second-seeded position in the Western Conference months ago.

Do it Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers, still battling for a playoff spot, and Page runs the risk of raising the ire of playoff hopeful Chicago.

You don’t suppose the Ducks would aid the Oilers at the expense of the Blackhawks?

Nah.

It would probably be fitting, though, given that Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter effectively ended the Ducks’ season when he injured Kariya with a cross check to the jaw on Feb. 1.

Let the conspiracy buffs run with that one a while.

The Ducks were too busy Monday savoring a solid effort against Colorado.

The Avalanche led, 2-1, heading into the third period. But it was difficult to figure out how or why. Colorado was outplayed in almost all facets of the game, which doesn’t bode well for the Avalanche’s hopes in the playoffs.

Instead of sparkling against the Ducks’ youthful lineup, centers Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic seemed to disappear for long stretches.

Forsberg, in particular, appeared to be skating poorly. Monday was only his second game back in the lineup after being sidelined for seven because of a groin injury.

Sakic wasn’t much better, but he looked to be far better off than Forsberg.

Neither excited the fans, who probably relished a Kariya-Selanne vs. Forsberg-Sakic matchup when they purchased their tickets some months ago.

Instead, the fans saw goals by Banham and Brent Severyn for the Ducks and Alexei Gusarov and Adam Foote for Colorado.

Gusarov scored the game’s first goal at 4:06 of the first period.

It should have been the only goal Colorado would need to subdue the injury-riddled Ducks.

But the Avalanche left too much open ice for Severyn, who whistled a low missile between the legs of Roy at 8:01 of the second period.

Suddenly, matters grew serious.

A seventh consecutive loss was one thing, but to have it happen against the down-and-out Ducks was too much to take.

However, Foote managed to give the Avalanche the lead, 2-1, at 11:16 of the second period. It lasted only until Banham scored his seventh of the season.

Banham fanned on his first stab at Matt Cullen’s pass to him at the right post. But Banham managed to stop the bouncing puck, then slip it past Roy for the game-tying goal.

The Ducks then managed to kill off a two-man disadvantage for 56 seconds late in the third period and another short-handed situation in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime.