It’s Hit and Miss

The Mighty Ducks defended their net well enough Saturday. Their offense swarmed the opposing net. They also received a razor-sharp performance from a goaltender tossed into a no-win situation.

The Ducks still opened their sixth NHL season with a 1-0 loss to the Washington Capitals before a sellout crowd of 19,740 at the MCI Center, however.

Predictable?

You betcha.

But not in the manner one might expect. The Ducks, picked by many to finish last in the Pacific Division this season, were not cannon fodder against the 1997-98 Stanley Cup finalists.

The Ducks, 0-6 in season openers, did not embarrass themselves or their community Saturday. They outplayed the Capitals at times, but simply could not produce the tying goal after falling behind, 1-0, after only 4:35.

In fact, there were only two significant differences between the teams--Richard Zednik’s power-play goal and goalie Olaf Kolzig’s superb play for the Capitals.

By night’s end, the Ducks boarded a bus for Philadelphia and tonight’s game against the Flyers feeling pretty darn good about themselves.

“I was pleased with the effort and the way we played, but not with the result,” said Craig Hartsburg, who made his Duck coaching debut.

Captain Paul Kariya, playing for the first time since suffering a concussion Feb. 1 that sidelined him for 28 games, put it this way:

“I felt we played really well. We played a high-tempo game and gave their defensemen a lot of trouble. But it would have been nice to at least get a tie.”

Not surprisingly, Kariya was one of the Ducks’ best players Saturday, firing off six shots at Kolzig. But others also had impressive season debuts.

Right wing Teemu Selanne had the Ducks’ best chance to score. But Kolzig, who was briefly out of position on the play, moved quickly to deflect Selanne’s point-blank shot at the left goal post midway through the first period.

“It takes a perfect shot to beat him,” said Duck goalie Dominic Roussel, who started his first NHL game since 1995-96 and stopped all but Zednik’s power-play goal. “He made a real good save on Teemu there. He’s pretty quick for a big guy.”

Kolzig stands 6 feet 3 and weighs 232 pounds. Washington Coach Ron Wilson likes to call him “Godzilla.”

“Olaf came up big tonight,” Wilson said of Kolzig, who stopped all 29 Duck shots. “He was like Godzilla again tonight.”

Roussel--starting in place of Guy Hebert, who has a separated right shoulder--was pressured by the Capitals right from the start. Peter Bondra, who tied Selanne for the NHL lead with 52 goals last season, handcuffed Roussel with a long-rang slap shot in the game’s first minute.

It hardly seemed to be an auspicious start for Roussel, who spent last season with the Canadian national team and spent the 1996-97 season in the minor leagues. When Zednik scored from a tricky angle, you could see Hebert shift anxiously on the bench.

Hebert has been sidelined since he was injured in the first minute of an Oct. 3 exhibition against the Nashville Predators. He might be fit to play tonight against Philadelphia, however.

The injury news was not so good for two other Ducks.

Defenseman Jason Marshall suffered a bruised right foot when he blocked a Washington shot late in the first period. Center Josef Marha sprained his right ankle after a collision with Kelly Miller of the Capitals in the second period. Hartsburg said their status is “day to day.”

Kariya knows all about “day to day.” He spent each day during a three-month span last spring wondering when the dizziness, headaches and short-term memory loss stemming from his fourth lifetime concussion would end.

Acupuncture treatments late in April helped eliminate his symptoms, but he still had to wait until Saturday to play in a game again.

Asked if he felt nervous about returning to the ice for the first time since then-Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter injured him with a cross check to the jaw, Kariya at first said no.

But he later admitted, “Maybe a little bit in the first period. After that, I settled down. I think maybe I was a little too anxious and forcing the issue a bit, trying to take what wasn’t there.”

Kariya certainly looked all right to Wilson.

“Of course it was great to see him,” Wilson said. “I just wish he had made his return [tonight] against Philly. I talked to Paul for about five minutes before the game and he looks great.

“Hockey needs players like him. They have two of the best over there in Paul and Teemu.”

* UPBEAT: Despite 2-7 record in exhibition season, the Ducks’ new general manager, Pierre Gauthier, is taking a positive approach. Page 12