Ducks Overwhelmed by Occasion in 5-2 Loss

The Mighty Ducks bowed to hockey royalty Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena, treating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings with remarkable deference.

The awe-struck Ducks ushered the Red Wings politely to the front of their net and shuffled around the ice looking nervous and timid in a 5-2 loss before a sellout crowd of 19,983.

About the only thing missing was a ceremony at center ice for the Ducks to kneel and kiss the Red Wings’ championship rings.

It was that bad.

“When you’re playing the best team in the league, you’ve got to play your best,” Duck winger Jim McKenzie said. “You definitely need your A game.”

The Ducks didn’t have it Wednesday.

Certainly, they have lost plenty of games to Detroit in the past, but they never failed to put up a good fight against the Red Wings.

But that appeared to be the case Wednesday as the Red Wings built a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.

Too much respect can produce a defeatist attitude, as the Ducks learned in falling to 3-14-5 in their six-season history against the Red Wings.

“We sort of sat back and they buried us,” Duck captain Paul Kariya said. “We let them walk from goal line to goal line without us touching anyone. We’ve always played tough and had good games against those guys. Tonight, it was our outlook or our lack of focus or whatever you want to call it.

“We just didn’t come out and play hard.”

Few of the Ducks had a good night, and that included Teemu Selanne, who made his return after a six-game absence because of a strained right thigh.

Selanne, who was injured Nov. 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes, seemed to be skating at no better than 80% of his top speed.

“I started really slow because I wanted to be sure I could finish the game,” Selanne said. “I was too scared to push it 100%. I was a little scared and nervous to play against this team tonight.”

It was difficult to figure out what the other Ducks’ excuses were after somebody named Norm Maracle stopped 26 of 28 shots while stepping in for injured Detroit goalie Chris Osgood.

Duck goalie Guy Hebert has had better games than Wednesday’s. Darren McCarty, Sergei Fedorov and Tomas Holmstrom scored in the game’s first 16:27 and the Ducks were in trouble.

Brendan Shanahan, at 16:33 of the second period, and Igor Larionov, at 4:14 of the third, also scored for Detroit.

“You can’t not be ready,” Hebert said.

Kariya ended Maracle’s shutout bid, scoring his team-leading 11th goal of the season at 15:54 of the second period.

The goal also extended Kariya’s streak of points in consecutive games to 10, tying him with Phoenix’s Keith Tkachuk for the longest streak in the NHL this season.

Kariya added his 12th goal of the season with the Ducks on a power-play at 14:48 of the third period. Selanne picked up an assist.

“He had pretty good jump as the game wore on,” Kariya said of Selanne. “It’s a matter of getting his confidence and strength back. His timing was good, but his explosiveness wasn’t there. But it will come.”

Coach Craig Hartsburg reunited Kariya and Selanne late in the second period after playing them on different lines to start the game.

Kariya skated with Steve Rucchin and Marty McInnis on the first line. Selanne played with Josef Marha and Antti Aalto on the second line.

Neither line clicked, however. With the Ducks trailing, 3-0, late in the second period, Hartsburg put Kariya, Marha and Selanne together and the move paid off in Kariya’s goal.

“It wasn’t a very good game by us,” Hartsburg said. “We can’t make excuses. We’ve got to be better.”

Selanne was hopeful of a stronger effort Friday against the expansion Nashville Predators, the second game on this five-game trip.

“We need to start Friday the way we ended this game,” Selanne said. “I have a feeling this is still going to be a great road trip for us.”