Ducks’ Streak Gets Plucked By Blues

The fortunate bounces stopped. The relentless attack came grinding to a halt. Most of all, the pluck and grit the Mighty Ducks showed during their six-game unbeaten streak got them only so far Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues’ 3-1 victory over the Ducks before 14,710 at the Arrowhead Pond was no thing of beauty.

St. Louis capitalized on a few minor mistakes, making the Ducks losers for the first time since a 1-0 loss Oct. 13 to the Montreal Canadiens. But the point is the Blues made their own luck Wednesday.

The Ducks, who had their 3-0-3 streak end, flailed and failed for long stretches before making a rally that came too late and produced too little.

St. Louis winger Pavol Demitra scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 1:50 into the third period to give the Blues a 2-0 lead.

But as the teams showed in a 2-2 tie Saturday in St. Louis, a two-goal lead isn’t exactly safe and secure. After all, the Ducks built a 2-0 lead early in the second period Saturday, but couldn’t hold it.

Wednesday, Tomas Sandstrom scored a power-play goal for the Ducks at 12:06 to cut the Blues’ lead to 2-1. It was only the Ducks’ fifth power-play goal in 50 chances with the man advantage this season.

Center Pierre Turgeon then put the game out of reach for the Blues with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Sandstrom’s power-play goal was just the sort of impact Coach Craig Hartsburg had hoped for when he made his first dramatic lineup changes of the season Wednesday. He probably hoped for more, however.

Hartsburg moved inexperienced forwards Matt Cullen and Jeff Nielsen from the fourth line to the second line and dropped veterans Travis Green and Marty McInnis to the fourth line.

Hartsburg also scratched defenseman Fredrik Olausson, who has only one goal and one assist. Mike Crowley took Olausson’s spot in the lineup, forming a defense pairing with Jamie Pushor.

The moves were designed to be a reward for Cullen, Nielsen and Crowley, but also to serve as a wake-up call for Green, McInnis and Olausson, who haven’t contributed much more lately than misfired scoring chances.

“We’ve got to get people to play well for us every night,” Hartsburg said at the morning skate. “Cullen and Nielsen have played well. It’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up. Green and McInnis are still going to get plenty of ice time. They’ll play some on the power play, and Green is an important guy for us on faceoffs.”

Green’s lack of scoring has been particularly troublesome for the Ducks. Expected to carry the load on the second line, Green has not scored a goal this season.

McInnis’ assist on Sandstrom’s goal was his second in four games since the Ducks acquired him Oct. 27 from the Chicago Blackhawks.

“If we don’t think we’re getting enough from some people, we’ll try something else,” Hartsburg promised.

The Ducks didn’t get much of anything against St. Louis goalie Grant Fuhr in the first two periods.

But the Blues managed only a goal from enforcer Tony Twist at 14:44 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Two Ducks went to cover left wing Michel Picard on the right-wing boards, leaving Twist alone in front of goalie Guy Hebert.

Twist put his first shot into Hebert’s pads, but he didn’t miss on the rebound.

File the Ducks’ best chance in the game’s first 40 minutes under the “What might have been” category. St. Louis defenseman Al MacInnis hooked Paul Kariya to the ice on a breakaway at 15:23 of the second period.

The crowd roared, expecting a penalty shot to be called. But referee Dennis LaRue merely sent MacInnis to the penalty box for two minutes for hooking.

Kariya pleaded his case to LaRue but received no justice. On television replays, Kariya could be seen yelling, “That’s a penalty shot.”

The ensuing Duck power play produced several shots, but none would have matched the drama of Kariya zooming in alone against Fuhr on a penalty shot. And certainly, none of the power-play chances were as good as the shot Kariya managed to swat while sliding on his stomach after MacInnis hooked him.