Hartsburg Disgusted With Practice Effort

If any of the Mighty Ducks thought Coach Craig Hartsburg was going to grin and bear it during the team’s current losing streak, they were in for a shock Tuesday.

Hartsburg went off on his team a couple of times during practice, and the message was pretty clear.

“Sometimes you need a little kick in the pants,” goalie Guy Hebert said. “We were dumping pucks into the penalty box and just weren’t playing well. Before 30 minutes of bad practice became an hour of bad practice, Craig stepped in a nipped it in the bud.”

Whether it will snap the Ducks out of their recent funk--they are 0-4-1 in the last five games--is to be seen. One thing, though, practice became a lot crisper.

“We haven’t been happy with the way we have played, and they showed up today and started doing the same things,” Hartsburg said.

“When you’re losing and not getting the breaks, you have to be a little more focused. Teams sometimes start blaming it on one thing. That’s wrong. You have to look at everything.”

Hartsburg made that point clear by tinkering with one of the top scoring lines in hockey on Monday. He moved Matt Cullen to replace Steve Rucchin at center between Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

The Ducks seemed in good shape before the all-star break, but a 1-6-1 streak has allowed teams below them in the standings to close the gap. The Ducks have the eighth and final playoff spot with 43 points. But the five teams below them are all within seven points.

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Not only did the Ducks lose, 1-0, to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, but they nearly lost their trainer.

Greg Smith was struck in the face by a puck in the first period and suffered a broken cheekbone. Dr. Jeff Pulver performed oral surgery on Sunday and Smith was back at practice Monday.

“I saw it coming all the way but couldn’t get out of the way,” he said. “Oh, well.”

It seemed to earn him some respect from the players.

“He’s the toughest guy in hockey,” Hebert said. “He took one in the face and didn’t miss one Kariya massage.”

Tonight

vs. Chicago

7:30, ESPN2

* Site--Arrowhead Pond.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 17-22-9, Blackhawks 14-27-8.

* Record vs. Blackhawks--2-1.

* Update--The Blackhawks were thrashed, 5-1, by San Jose on Monday. Chicago has given up 155 goals, third most in the NHL. Right wing Tony Amonte still ranks among the leaders in goals scored--he is tied for second with 27--but is 19th in scoring, an indication there is little help on his line. Duck center Antti Aalto will return tonight after missing four games because of illness. He will be teamed on a line with Jim McKenzie and Johan Davidsson.

* Tickets--(714) 740-2000 or (213) 480-3232.