Ducks All Tied Up, Winning Streak Ends at 7

Eight-game winning streaks don’t come along very often in the NHL.

The Mighty Ducks had one in their grasp Wednesday, doing all the right things while building a three-goal lead to start the third period against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Ducks then stopped skating, stopped winning key battles along the boards and began handling the puck as if it were toxic. Three Vancouver goals later, the Ducks had to settle for a 4-4 tie in front of a disbelieving crowd of 14,199 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Third-period goals by Vancouver’s Josh Holden, Markus Naslund and Harry York erased a 4-1 Duck lead.

The Canucks sent the Ducks off on a two-game trip to play the first-place Stars at Dallas on Friday and the fourth-place Coyotes at Phoenix on Saturday with a fresh dose of humility.

“There was no desperation,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We played with no passion. We cheated and that’s what happens to cheaters. We lost all the battles on the boards in our own end. There was just a lack of commitment.

“We had complete control. All we had to do was stay desperate.”

The Ducks’ eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) still makes them the NHL’s hottest team. But that was of little concern to the Ducks, who squandered what should have been their 14th victory in the last 17 games.

“Obviously, it was a game we felt we should have won,” said winger Marty McInnis, who assisted on the Ducks’ first two goals. “We were lucky to get a tie. We have to regroup. Dallas will beat us pretty badly if we play like we did tonight.”

Hartsburg believed something might go wrong in the third period after watching Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne take a sloppy final shift in final minute of the second period.

Only 47 seconds into the third, Holden scored his first NHL goal to give the Canucks life. Naslund’s 33rd goal of the season cut the deficit to 4-3 at the 5:58 mark.

York’s innocent-looking slap shot while rookie goaltender Kevin Weekes was headed to the bench in favor of a sixth skater in the final minute of regulation found its way past Guy Hebert at 19:11.

Kariya and Selanne almost connected on the game-winner midway through the five-minute overtime period, but the puck skipped over Selanne’s stick at the right goal post.

Selanne had already scored once, extending his point streak to 17 consecutive games. Only Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros, who had an 18-game streak, has had a longer point streak this season.

Kariya had two goals, ending a three-game goal-scoring drought.

Steve Rucchin had three assists and Fredrik Olausson two.

But all of that happened in the first two periods. The Ducks produced nothing of significance in the third.

“Obviously, they all felt pretty comfortable [to start the third period],” Hartsburg said. “I’ve talked about it a million times, but the minute you stop being desperate that’s when you go south.

“It was just a poor period by us. We’ve got to continue to learn these lessons. Obviously, it was an ugly lesson to learn. It’s a huge mistake to feel comfortable at any point in a hockey game.”

After 12:02 of the first period, the Ducks had as many goals (two) as the Canucks had shots on goal.

Ted Drury whistled a shot from just inside the blue line past Weekes at the 6:20 mark of the first period.

McInnis set up the goal, stealing a poor pass from Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlund and leaving the puck for Drury to fire on net.

Kariya then swept a rebound past Weekes while the Ducks were on a power play at 12:02. McInnis and Rucchin assisted on the goal, Kariya’s 28th but his first in four games.

Selanne’s team-leading 37th goal of the season, also while on the power play, gave the Ducks a commanding, 3-0, lead only 1:43 into the second period.