Stronger Lineup Expected

The Mighty Ducks made no cuts, trades or free-agent signings Thursday, but one look at the players on the ice for the second of two practice sessions indicated the team is all but set.

Among those on the ice: Guy Hebert, Paul Kariya, Fredrik Olausson, Teemu Selanne and Oleg Tverdovsky.

Among those in the early-morning session: Frank Banham, Scott Ferguson, Peter LeBoutillier and Dan Trebil.

“You can read whatever you want into it,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We want to play our team together in at least three exhibitions. We want to go into the Dallas game [the season-opener Oct. 2] sharp, but fresh.”

Count tonight’s exhibition against the Kings at 7:30 at the Arrowhead Pond the first of the three.

Hebert and Dominic Roussel are scheduled to split the goaltending chores. Among the forwards, only Kariya will not play, because of a sore left hip. On defense, Kevin Haller and Pascal Trepanier will not play, both recovering from knee surgery.

It’s a much stronger lineup than Hartsburg has played in any of the three previous exhibitions. Ted Drury will fill Kariya’s spot on the top line, joining Selanne and Matt Cullen. Ted Donato, Steve Rucchin and Marty McInnis will form the second line.

Mike Leclerc, Antti Aalto and Jeff Nielsen will make up the third line and Jim McKenzie, Johan Davidsson and Stu Grimson the fourth.

Olausson and Niclas Havelid will form one defense pairing with Ruslan Salei and Tverdovsky playing together and Jason Marshall matched with Pavel Trnka.

“Some exhibitions you are playing different line combinations,” Hartsburg said. “You have people trying to show you what they can do. You have to look at the bigger picture than just your record.”

The Ducks are 1-1-1 with five games left in the exhibition season.

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Kariya remains on track for an exhibition appearance in the next week or two. He made it through all of Wednesday’s practice, but cut Thursday’s workout short.

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Maxim Balmochnykh, a rookie left wing, continues to recover from a separated right shoulder. Hartsburg hopes to play him in an exhibition game before sending him to Cincinnati of the American Hockey League to start the season.