Ducks’ Listless Play Is Almost Criminal

The Mighty Ducks got just what they deserved Monday night, which was a 2-2 tie against the Ottawa Senators.

Anything more could have been considered a crime. Of course, something less would have been a more appropriate result.

The Ducks spent the better of the game defying the odds, logic and the Senators before giving up the game-tying goal with 5.9 seconds left in regulation.

Ottawa’s Shawn McEachern swatted a rebound from near the left goal post past Duck goaltender Dominic Roussel, drawing the Senators even and giving the sellout crowd of 18,500 at the Corel Centre some justice at last.

“It was a steal,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said after neither team could score in the five-minute overtime period. “We stole a point.”

It could prove to be a valuable point in the standings, but Hartsburg wasn’t ready to settle for moral victories after catching the Ducks’ act Monday.

Hartsburg went quickly into attack mode, which is more than can be said for the listless Ducks, who were outshot, 39-16.

“I’m concerned because of our lack of commitment,” he said. “I couldn’t say there was one guy who didn’t cheat and didn’t work. We had a lot of cheaters tonight. It’s going to catch up to us and, all of a sudden, guys are going to start wondering, ‘Why are we losing? Why are we losing?’ ”

Hartsburg was just getting warmed up.

“We must have filled up on stuffing and mashed potatoes [during the three-day Christmas break],” he said. “Well, we better wake up.”

Asked about the seven minor penalties the Ducks took, Hartsburg said, “They were lazy, cheating, selfish penalties, which was the way we played the whole game.”

The Ducks were in no position to argue any of Hartsburg’s points.

They let Roussel down with a lackluster showing in front of him for the second consecutive game. Without Roussel’s superb play in goal, the Ducks might have lost by two or three goals Monday to Ottawa and last week against the Colorado Avalanche.

Instead, they are unbeaten in Roussel’s last two starts (1-0-1).

Facing a similar onslaught, Roussel stopped 45 shots in a 1-0 victory Dec. 22 against Colorado.

“It’s not fair to him to sit back and play like that in front of him,” left wing Marty McInnis said. “We got away from the system. We got away from forechecking. We can’t keep playing like that. It’s a game we tied, but we should have won.”

The Ducks produced a bit more offense Monday than last week against Colorado. McInnis’ shorthanded goal at 4:02 of the second period gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead after McEachern scored 1:09 into the game and Anaheim’s Fredrik Olausson countered at 10:13 of the first period.

But the same old bugaboos cropped up down the stretch.

It certainly didn’t help matters that referee Kerry Fraser whistled Duck defenseman Pascal Trepanier for interference with 2:12 left in regulation. Other, more blatant infractions by both teams went unpunished in the third period.

Ottawa couldn’t score on the power play, but had the Ducks on the ropes as goalie Ron Tugnutt went to the bench in favor of a sixth skater with less than a minute to play.

Trepanier had just returned to the ice when Ottawa defenseman Jason York whistled a shot on net from near the blue line. The rebound went to McEachern, who scored his 15 goal of the season.

Roussel, 1-1-3 in five starts this season, had no chance on the play.

“Five seconds left--that’s not much time,” Roussel said. “[But] they had that power play going and they were able to set up and get shots off. It was tough and we were tired too.”

Hartsburg quickly amended his criticism of the Ducks when Roussel’s name was mentioned. There was no way he could fault his backup goalie.

“He was unbelievable,” Hartsburg said. “The last two games, he’s given us three points.”

Hartsburg could have started Guy Hebert, who is 12-9-7 with a 2.17 goals-against average and four shutouts in 28 games. But, “[Roussel] earned the right to play,” Hartsburg said.

Hebert is expected to start Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.