Hartsburg Doesn’t Like What He Sees

The time for compassionate words for the Not-So-Mighty Ducks ended long ago for most followers of this woebegone franchise.

Even Coach Craig Hartsburg finally chucked his “We just gotta keep pushing because we’re on the right track” shtick after a 5-2 public humiliation Wednesday at the hands of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

Without mentioning them by name, Hartsburg went so far as to criticize all-star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, blaming them for the Ducks’ failure to click on three critical power-play opportunities Wednesday and four in a 1-0 loss Tuesday to St. Louis.

“We’ve got some pretty good players on it and they’ve accomplished nothing the last two nights,” Hartsburg said. “It’s some of these guys’ jobs to provide us with power-play goals every night. They haven’t done it the last two nights. I just think it’s time some of these guys stepped up. We can’t keep sugarcoating it.”

Hartsburg also benched tough guy Jim Cummins for taking a needless first-period holding penalty that led to the first of four Columbus power-play goals. Cummins interfered with St. Louis goalie Roman Turek, which set up a power-play goal Tuesday for the Blues.

“I don’t know why you would take a penalty 200 feet from our net unless it’s to run someone into the glass to fire up our team,” Hartsburg said, getting started on perhaps his first genuine postgame rant in his Anaheim tenure.

“I don’t have any answers,” he added after the Ducks fell to 3-11-3-1 in their last 18 games. “I’m out of answers. It’s a lack of effort, maybe a lack of caring at times. I’m not going to try to hide it anymore. We take stupid penalties 200 feet from our goal. We play in spurts, but when you get right down to it, we do too many things to hurt ourselves.”

Selanne was dismayed to learn of Hartsburg’s comments. Selanne believes the Ducks want to win and care about each other enough to snap out of this funk.

“I have to disagree with him,” said Selanne, who was held without a goal for the seventh consecutive game. “We’re a team playing without confidence. We haven’t found a way to get the job done. I can’t say there’s anyone who doesn’t want to win. We need everybody right now. We need to find a way to get our confidence back.”

Said Kariya: “We’ve beaten ourselves for the last two weeks. That’s where the frustration and anger comes from. Everybody here wants to win. I think maybe there aren’t enough guys who want to do the team things well--staying out of the penalty box, blocking a shot. The effort is there, but we’re not going in the right direction.”

The Ducks certainly were no-shows in the game’s first 25 minutes or so, trailing, 4-0, before something (embarrassment?) seized them and they found their game at long last.

Mike Leclerc and Matt Cullen, two of the very few hard-working Ducks, scored less than seven minutes apart in the second period to trim the deficit to 4-2 with plenty of time left in the game. Marty McInnis assisted on both goals.

The Ducks got nothing else past goalie Marc Denis, took another foolish penalty late and Steve Heinze sealed the deal with his second power-play goal of the game as Columbus ended an eight-game losing streak.

In the end, the Blue Jackets played like a team desperate for a victory and the Ducks looked liked a team just waking up from a long nap.

Columbus took control with three quick goals, sending Guy Hebert to the bench after only 12:12. Hebert had been superb Tuesday against the Blues and had blanked the Kings, 4-0, Sunday in Anaheim.

But Geoff Sanderson, Heinze and Alexander Selivanov beat Hebert to turn the game into a runaway midway through the opening period. Dominic Roussel gave up a power-play goal to Jamie Heward 3:10 into the second for a 4-0 Columbus lead.

Heinze added a fifth Columbus goal in the final moments of the final period, slipping the puck around defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski along the right-wing boards before beating Roussel with a pinpoint shot into the upper reaches of the net.

The Ducks outshot Columbus, 38-22.