Hartsburg Thunders After Loss to Lightning

Flat, uninspired and dropping to the level of the opposition instead of rising above it, the Mighty Ducks fumbled away a victory Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Ducks gave up a goal in the game’s opening minutes, took a lead, but couldn’t hold it and had only themselves to blame for a miserable 4-2 loss against the Lightning at the Arrowhead Pond.

Tampa Bay ended the Ducks’ fifth two-game winning streak by outhustling them from start to finish. At no time was that more evident than on Darcy Tucker’s go-ahead goal with 2:45 left in the game.

Tucker slipped by the defense, accepted a cross-ice pass from Stan Drulia and deposited the puck behind Guy Hebert for a 3-2 Tampa Bay lead. Tucker added an empty-net goal in the final minute that sent the announced crowd of 12,047, a franchise low, home in an angry mood.

Who could blame them?

Certainly not Coach Craig Hartsburg, who has grown weary of the Ducks’ method of operation this season.

Two steps forward, one step back is nice for the dance floor. But it’s no way to stay competitive in the Pacific Division, the NHL’s best this season.

“We have to be tired of being mediocre,” Hartsburg said after the Ducks returned to the .500 mark at 12-12-2-1. “I know I am. I know the assistant coaches are. I know the trainers are. I know management is.

“We’re waiting for the players to be tired of it.”

Hartsburg was just getting started on a postgame rant.

“Mediocrity is unacceptable,” he added. “You won’t stay mediocre for very long in this league. A .500 record isn’t going to get you into the playoffs.

“It’s time to wake up. It’s time to wake up.”

Hartsburg got no argument from center Steve Rucchin.

“There’s just not enough killer instinct in this dressing room right now,” Rucchin said. “We win a few games and we’ve got a chance to get something good going and we don’t want to play hockey.

“We just think it’s going to come easy. There’s not a team in this league that’s not going to battle us every night.

“We have good practices, but somehow we don’t want to compete. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. They’re all good teams. It’s something we have to learn. We definitely have to wake up and play at our best every night.”

The Ducks gave up the first of two goals to Dan Kesa only 1:40 into the game, then appeared to have taken control on goals by Paul Kariya and Mike Leclerc.

A 2-1 Duck lead seemed the perfect launching pad for a rout starting in the second period. Instead, Tampa Bay worked over the Ducks, tying the score on Kesa’s second goal at 16:02 of the second period.

Tucker’s goals enabled the Lightning to defeat the Ducks for the first time in six games.

“When we play teams like that, we have to play scared,” Tampa Bay Coach Steve Ludzik said of the Ducks.

The Ducks would be wise to start playing that way every night. The spark and passion required to win simply weren’t present against the Lightning.

“There was [a spark] for 12 minutes,” Hartsburg said. “But it’s also tough to play that way the entire game. There’s no easy way to play this game in this league. None. The sooner we figure that out, the better. Right now, it’s a daily battle.”

The Ducks’ aggressive forechecking and sustained offensive pressure enabled them to take a 2-1 lead. Suddenly, they stopped playing the same hard-working style and paid the price.

“This team has to learn,” Hartsburg said. “Sometimes you teach by being patient. Sometimes you teach by making life as miserable as possible.”

In other words, Hartsburg plans to change his patient approach at practice today. There’s simply no time to waste. The Ducks host the hot Kings on Friday, then play the Coyotes at Phoenix on Saturday.

“We’ve been in and out,” Hartsburg said. “It’s getting frustrating for us as coaches. But we’ll go right back at them [today] and keep selling this as the way to win. There’s no other way to win. If the players think there is, they’re wrong.”