Ducks Are Stonewalled by Shtalenkov in Loss to Coyotes

They skated with a purpose Wednesday night, applied a sustained attack and threw their weight around from start to finish.

But the Mighty Ducks simply couldn’t score against former teammate Mikhail Shtalenkov and lost, 1-0, to the Phoenix Coyotes before an announced crowd of 13,054 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Shtalenkov stopped all 32 shots he faced, including several from point-blank range while the Ducks were on a two-man power-play advantage in the second period.

Phoenix right wing Shane Doan scored the game’s only goal, pouncing on a turnover and slipping a quick shot past Guy Hebert at 6:17 of the second period.

In the end, the Ducks looked like potential Stanley Cup champions when compared to their miserable showing during Monday’s 8-1 loss to the Kings at the Great Western Forum.

“We did a lot of good things,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said after the Ducks fell to 2-3-1 in exhibition play. “We’ve been working hard in practice and we were sluggish tonight. But we’re going to push harder rather than back off.”

As usual during the exhibition season, the Ducks’ best line was their most energetic. Left wing Mike Leclerc, center Antti Aalto and left wing Jeff Nielsen buzzed Shtalenkov’s net, producing some of the Ducks’ best scoring chances.

They also hounded and hammered the Coyotes in the corners and in front of both nets. It’s nothing Hartsburg hasn’t seen in the last five exhibitions, and he was pleased again by the play of the line.

“It’s the momentum those guys can create,” Hartsburg said when asked what he likes best about the Leclerc-Aalto-Nielsen line. “Those three will score some goals if they keep up the pressure down low.”

Certainly, the standout play of Leclerc and Aalto led to the demotion of center Johan Davidsson to Cincinnati of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. Davidsson, who spent last season in Anaheim, was simply beaten out for a job.

“He didn’t make the team,” Hartsburg said. “Other players stepped up ahead of him. Antti Aalto won the spot, and Teddy Drury has done a good job [centering the fourth line]. Rather than delay the fact, we decided to get him going down there [at Cincinnati].”

Hartsburg hasn’t ruled out a return to the Ducks for Davidsson.

“He’s a better player than he’s shown here,” Hartsburg said. “He just got beat out of a job.”