A Good Time for Trip to Detroit

Welcome to Never-Never Land.

That’s Never-Never Land as in, the Mighty Ducks never, never seem to win here. They are 1-10-3 in their eight-season history at Joe Louis Arena, and that doesn’t include four playoff defeats. Their lone victory in Detroit was a 1-0 overtime decision March 20, 1997.

However, the Ducks might be catching the Red Wings in a weak moment. They are only 9-8-1-2 at home this season.

What’s more, goaltender Manny Legace took a shot off his forehead during Tuesday’s practice, felt ill and could not play in a 2-0 loss Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks.

Chris Osgood, who hasn’t been very good--he has a 7-10 record this season--played against San Jose and could be in net tonight against the Ducks.

The Ducks are in injury trouble themselves, though, what with left wing Paul Kariya sidelined by a broken right foot and center Steve Rucchin unable to play because of dizziness stemming from the broken nose and cheekbone he suffered Nov. 15.

Right wing Teemu Selanne limped through a 4-2 loss Wednesday against the Atlanta Thrashers because of a groin strain. Selanne hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 22.

The top priority tonight is playing a better defensive game than Wednesday’s against Atlanta. The Ducks gave up three goals and 16 shots in the opening period and were never in contention.

“We have to play tighter hockey than we have been,” Coach Guy Charron said. “We have to be more solid defensively.”

Charron planned to study a videotape of San Jose’s victory Wednesday over the Red Wings, looking for clues to defeating Detroit.

“I watched a little bit of it and San Jose played a very patient game,” he said.

TONIGHT

at Detroit 4:30 PST

Fox Sports Net 2

* Site--Joe Louis Arena.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 13-16-4-3, Red Wings 19-12-3-2.

* Record vs. Red Wings--0-1.

* Update--The Ducks’ season-best three-game winning streak ended with the loss to Atlanta. This is the first game in a two-game trip before the Christmas break. The Ducks play the Central Division-leading St. Louis Blues on Saturday. After two days at home, the Ducks begin a three-game trip Wednesday to play the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. The Ducks reach the midway point of their eighth season after the Minnesota game and will have played 24 of their 41 games on the road, tops in the NHL.