Hebert Guarding Against Fatigue

Two years ago, goalie Guy Hebert played to exhaustion as the Ducks roared down the stretch to secure their first winning record and appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Hebert doesn’t want a repeat this season.

So, when Coach Craig Hartsburg suggested Hebert take Friday’s game against the Nashville Predators off, he gladly took a seat on the bench.

Hebert has played three in a row since the last time Dominic Roussel spelled him during a 1-0 victory Feb. 24 against the Edmonton Oilers. However, Hebert started 13 consecutive before the Edmonton game and he was starting to feel fatigued again.

“I’ve felt much better the last several games,” said Hebert, 25-21-7 with a 2.34 goals-against average. “Everybody hits a point where they get a little down. Now, you start feeling like you’ve got to get up for the playoffs.”

In 1996-97, Hebert started 17 consecutive, but was too tired to play effectively in the season’s final 10 games. Mikhail Shtalenkov started or came into a game in relief in six of the final 10.

The Ducks faced a must-win situation in almost every game that season, which Hebert believes contributed to his fatigue.

Hebert dutifully played on and had a credible first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Coyotes, but he was injured late in Game 2 of the second-round series against the Detroit Red Wings.

“It’s nice to be in fifth [place in the Western Conference], rather than in eighth or ninth trying to get into fifth,” Hebert said of the difference between this season and 1996-97.

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Center Steve Rucchin was sidelined for a third consecutive game because of a combination of a sinus infection and a broken nose. He hopes to play Sunday against Detroit.