After Letdown, Cullen Helps Ducks Get Back on Even Keel

All that talk Friday about building momentum and gaining confidence now that the Mighty Ducks have clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth?

Forget about it.

The Ducks apparently did Saturday. How else to explain their flat-footed start en route to a 2-2 tie against the New York Islanders before an announced crowd of 12,297 at Nassau Coliseum?

Fact is, the Ducks are making a habit of these lurching starts. They began their five-game trip by receiving a failure-to-appear notice after a 7-1 loss Wednesday to the New Jersey Devils.

Friday, the Ducks put together a steady effort and whipped the New York Rangers up and down the ice in a 4-1 victory that clinched the franchise’s second postseason berth in its six-season history.

Saturday had the look of a repeat of Wednesday’s debacle. The Islanders scored twice on point-blank shots after Duck defensive breakdowns in the game’s first 8:38.

“Give our guys credit,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “They dug in there and made sure what happened the other night [against the Devils] didn’t happen again.”

Defenseman Fredrik Olausson’s power-play goal with six minutes left in the second period ignited the Duck comeback. Center Matt Cullen then swept a loose puck into an empty net after a broken play in front of Islander goalie Wade Flaherty with 2:26 left in the third period.

All things considered, a 2-2 tie wasn’t a terrible result for the Ducks, who were playing their third game in four nights. But their inability to show up on time concerned captain Paul Kariya.

“That’s two out of three games now,” Kariya said. “We’ve got to change something in our preparation. . . . Craig read us the riot act after the first period. We weren’t ready to play. That’s inexcusable. I don’t like saying stuff before games, but if I have to I guess I’ll start doing it.”

Asked for his explanation for Saturday’s poor start, Kariya said, “I think the fact that we clinched a playoff spot [Friday] night had a lot to do with it.”

A letdown Saturday was a poor way to treat backup goalie Dominic Roussel, who started in place of Guy Hebert for the first time in almost a month. The Ducks might have trailed by more than 2-0 after the first period if not for several excellent saves by Roussel.

“Our desire to win the game wasn’t there,” Roussel said. “We got that back in the second period, though. After that we got back to playing our game.”

Roussel made 31 saves in only his 15th appearance this season, but he had no chance on the two shots New York put behind him. As in Wednesday’s loss to New Jersey, the Ducks’ defense in front of their own net was atrocious in the first period.

Islander captain Trevor Linden took the puck away from Duck defenseman Kevin Haller and slipped it past a helpless Roussel at 6:04 of the first period.

Mats Lindgren then tapped his own rebound by Roussel for a 2-0 Islander lead at the 8:38 mark.

Unlike in the New Jersey game, the Ducks stormed back. After a meager three shots in the first period, the Ducks seized control midway through the second period and buzzed the Islander net repeatedly.

Cullen got a lucky break on the tying goal. Kariya’s pass from the right wing to Teemu Selanne near the left goal post hit the skate of Islander defenseman Zdeno Chara instead and bounced toward the right post.

Flaherty, moving swiftly to stop a possible shot by Selanne, was out of position and Cullen had an open net in which to deposit the loose puck.

“I came to the front of the net and the puck was just lying there,” Cullen said. “I’ll take it any day. I like an empty net staring me in the face.”

Saturday’s game was in sharp contrast to the chippy 2-2 tie the teams played Dec. 18 at Anaheim. New York General Manager Mike Milbury called Duck center Travis Green a “gutless puke” for a tough but legal check against Islander defenseman Kenny Jonsson.

There were several bone-jarring checks but nothing that could be classified as a dirty hit Saturday.