Three in a Row the Rallying Cry

For the fifth time this season, the Mighty Ducks have won back-to-back games. For the fifth time this season, they will try to extend that streak.

Each time the Ducks are on the verge of a roll, they take a step back. The last two times were particularly disappointing, when Montreal snapped Duck winning streaks.

Enter Tampa Bay, a team that had a decent November but is 11th in the Eastern Conference. Will it be a breakthrough game tonight for the Ducks or another lost opportunity?

“We know what we’ve done wrong,” team captain Paul Kariya said. “When we lose our work ethic, our grit, our determination, when all those things go, then we lose our teamwork.”

The Ducks are coming off two solid performances, beating Dallas and Nashville on the road. It was the first time they have won in Dallas since 1993. They lost both games in Nashville last season.

Of course, Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg doesn’t want to hear about streaks or past games.

“Tampa Bay is the biggest game of our season,” he said. “That’s what our focus has got to be right now.

“We had five good periods on the road. That’s a step in the right direction for us. . . . The next step in judging if we play with urgency will be [tonight].”

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Defenseman Kevin Haller skated briefly before practice the last two days, the first time he has been on the ice since suffering a sprained left knee Nov. 15 against Detroit.

TONIGHT

vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30

* Site--Arrowhead Pond.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 12-11-2-1, Tampa Bay 8-13-2-2.

* Record vs. Lightning--1-0.

* Update--Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier has two goals and four assists in the last four games. The Ducks’ Jim McKenzie pronounced himself fit and ready, after missing nine games because of a broken left hand. He said he was expecting to play tonight. Hartsburg, though, wasn’t so sure. “He could probably play, but he wouldn’t be 100%,” Hartsburg said. “ I don’t think we’ll put him in at this point.”

*Tickets--(714) 740-2000.