Thrashers Let Ducks Know the Honeymoon’s Over

Stupid Duck tricks.

Three games into Guy Charron’s tenure as coach of the Mighty Ducks and the fellows were back to their old confounding ways, losing to the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-2, Wednesday night before an announced crowd of 12,051 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Now that didn’t take long, did it?

To be sure, the smooth-skating Thrashers played a significant role in ending the Ducks’ season-high three-game winning streak. The victory was Atlanta’s eighth in its last 11 games.

At some point, someone is going to have to take the Thrashers seriously. Or more seriously than the Ducks did while taking a rather large backward step after winning two in a row for Charron, who replaced fired Craig Hartsburg a week ago today.

“This is now the second game we haven’t started the way we expected to, or should have,” Charron said. “We were fortunate against Tampa Bay. Tonight, giving up three goals against a team that clogs up the neutral zone is not going to be an easy situation. We can’t give up the first goal. We haven’t had good starts the last two games. I really don’t know why.”

Atlanta played the way the Ducks should have in their first game without left wing Paul Kariya, who suffered a broken right foot in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Thrashers skated as if on a mission, taking a 3-0 lead on goals from Hnat Domenichelli, Brad Tapper and Jeff Odgers only 13:39 into the game. The goals by Tapper and Odgers were a mere 28 seconds apart.

The Ducks offered only token resistance. Marty McInnis, in the first period, and Samuel Pahlsson, in the third for his first point as a Duck, scored power-play goals. They were out of sync without Kariya, their captain and leading scorer with 32 points.

It certainly didn’t help the Ducks’ cause that right wing Teemu Selanne appeared to be moving at no better than 75% of full speed because of a nagging groin injury.

“It’s like driving a car with a flat tire,” Selanne said. “It’s pretty tough. I’m trying to hang in there.”

Top center Steve Rucchin was sidelined for the 14th game in the last 16 because of the effects of a broken nose and cheekbone suffered when Selanne’s deflected slap shot struck him Nov. 14 against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Ducks patched together victories over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers and the Lightning with Selanne and Rucchin ailing. But they seemed lost Wednesday without Kariya.

Moments before Domenichelli’s fifth goal of the season, the Thrashers began to take command. They buzzed Guy Hebert’s net, firing shots from all manner of distances and angles.

Duck winger Petr Tenkrat whipped a quick shot off the left goal post, which could have pulled Anaheim even, at 1-1, about 8:30 into the first period. But Tenkrat’s near-miss was merely a sign this was not going to be the Ducks’ night.

Tapper, playing in only his fifth NHL game, put the Thrashers ahead, 2-0, converting on a two-on-one break with Domenichelli after Duck defenseman Niclas Havelid fanned on a scoring chance from the high slot.

Odgers, a grinder who has 65 goals in 652 NHL games, then whistled a shot from the slot off the crossbar and into the back of the net for a 3-0 Atlanta lead at 13:39.

McInnis gave the Ducks life with his 12th goal of the season, but it was only a momentary surge. Steve Staios’ power-play goal 5:14 into the second period restored Atlanta’s three-goal lead.

In the opening minutes, it was difficult to tell which team played a run-and-gun game the night before against the Kings. The answer was the Thrashers, who matched strides with the defenseless Kings and pulled out a 7-6 victory in overtime.

The Ducks never seemed to find their legs. Too much Christmas shopping at crowded Southern California malls perhaps?

NHL coaches have long preferred to have their teams on the road during the days leading up to the holidays to avoid such distractions.

And the Ducks certainly looked as if their minds were elsewhere to start the final game of their five-game home stand.