Nothing Good to Say About Ducks’ 8-2 Loss

There were plenty of colorful words to describe the Mighty Ducks’ 8-2 loss Wednesday to the Phoenix Coyotes that ended their four-game winning steak.

Many were uttered by a grumpy, early-departing crowd of 14,315 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Coach Craig Hartsburg came up with two good words that can actually be printed in a family newspaper, calling the Ducks’ performance an “embarrassment” and a “disgrace.”

Captain Paul Kariya had another one. He called it “inexcusable.”

The Ducks certainly were on their games when it came time to analyze their first loss since a 2-1 defeat Dec. 10 against the Colorado Avalanche.

It was the Ducks’ worst loss since a 7-1 defeat last March 31 against the New Jersey Devils. After giving up eight goals Wednesday, the Ducks goals-against average rose from 2.15, which was the NHL’s third-lowest, to 2.32.

Of greater concern than the end of the Ducks’ modest winning streak was a neck injury that forced goaltender Guy Hebert to the bench after the second period.

Hebert suffered neck spasms after a first-period collision, according to Hartsburg. Hebert made it through the second period, but could not continue in the third.

“He had neck spasms, but that’s as much as we know right now,” Hartsburg said. “I don’t know when he got hit. I don’t remember the play. We’re hoping he’ll be all right with a few days of rest.”

The Ducks are scheduled to practice today, then take two days off before resuming play Sunday against the Sharks at San Jose.

Backup Dominic Roussel, so solid in picking up victories last week against Colorado and the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, didn’t inspire much confidence Wednesday in relief of Hebert.

However, if Hebert isn’t fit to play Sunday against San Jose, Roussel will almost certainly get the call.

Hartsburg cut Roussel no slack for a shoddy outing that ended any hopes the Ducks had of rallying from a 3-1 deficit to start the third period. Roussel gave up five goals on 16 shots.

“There’s no excuses,” Hartsburg said. “You’re the backup goalie, you’ve got to be ready to play. He had to go in tonight because we had an injury. We didn’t play very well in front of him, but he wasn’t very good either.”

The end was far different from the start Wednesday. The Ducks swarmed the Coyotes in the opening minutes, but couldn’t squeeze a puck past goaltender Bob Essensa.

Kariya could sense the Coyotes’ confidence growing with each passing minute.

“I thought in the first period, we played pretty well,” Kariya said. “Even though we turned the puck over a lot we still had jump and energy. I thought we had it going when we made it 2-1. We were still in good position to start the third even though it was 3-1.”

Kariya narrowed Phoenix’s lead to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 14:27 of the second period and the Ducks seemed poised for a comeback. It never happened.

Jeremy Roenick’s power-play goal at 17:59 of the second gave the Coyotes a 3-1 lead. Phoenix then overwhelmed the Ducks with goals from Shane Doan, Greg Adams, Trevor Letowski, Adams (again) and Stan Neckar.

Mike Sullivan, Keith Tkachuk and Roenick had the Coyotes’ second-period goals.

Jeff Nielsen scored the Ducks’ second goal.

“We just fell apart,” Kariya said. “It’s inexcusable to play like that, especially in the third period.”

Added Hartsburg: “We’ve been playing well and our fans were starting to [get behind the team]. I feel bad for the fans. They don’t deserve this.

“It’s an embarrassment and a disgrace.”

Asked to comment on Hartsburg’s remarks, Kariya said, “He’s right.”

“It would have been great to go into the holiday break with a five-game winning streak and a lot of confidence,” Kariya added. “We’re still not there yet. We have a lot of work to do.”

Kariya figured the way the four-game winning streak ended might do the Ducks some good in the long run.

“Sometimes the best thing is getting your butts kicked,” he said. “The guys will think about it for a couple of days.”