Struggling Ducks Seem Powerless to Change Their Ways

A well-meaning soul making the rounds Saturday in the visitors’ dressing room at Joe Louis Arena thrust a final score sheet into the hands of Mighty Duck captain Paul Kariya.

Kariya accepted it politely but couldn’t bring himself to scan it for clues to the Ducks’ 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

What possibly could have been printed on a piece of paper that he didn’t already painfully know? The final score at the top of the page had a familiar ring.

The figures 0 and 7 under the section marked “power plays” (goals-opportunities) also was something Kariya has grown accustomed to seeing at the end of games.

After a few moments speaking in hushed tones to reporters, Kariya walked slowly away to shower, leaving the unread sheet behind on a table.

Kariya had fielded the same questions he’s been fielding, answering them the same way he’s been answering them. Only his manner was different Saturday.

Instead of sounding hopeful, as in the past, Kariya sounded almost resigned to quarterbacking a power-play unit that’s costing the Ducks victories.

“At this point, I don’t know what to say, but if we don’t have at least an average power play, we’re not going to win many games,” he said after the Ducks dropped to 17 for 152 (11.2%) on the power play, ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL at 10.2% (19 for 187).

The Ducks had themselves to blame, but Detroit played a key role in extending Anaheim’s winless streak to 0-5-1. The Ducks also are 1-6-1 since defeating Detroit, 3-1, Dec. 19 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Saturday, Steve Yzerman scored two third-period goals, including one on a power play, to lead the Red Wings. He passed Bobby Hull to move into eighth place on the NHL’s all-time list with 611 goals.

Yzerman’s late-game heroics only compounded the Ducks’ misery.

“We wasted a good effort,” right wing Teemu Selanne said. “The power play cost us the game. We could have buried these guys easily if we could have taken advantage of our power plays.

“It’s so frustrating.”

Five on five, the Ducks were superb. They carried the play to the Red Wings for extended periods, matching them stride for stride and hit for hit.

But the Ducks’ failures on the power play were impossible to overcome. Kariya’s short-handed goal pulled the Ducks into a 2-2 tie 2:21 into the final period.

But Yzerman’s power-play goal while Matt Cullen was still in the penalty box for obstruction-holding gave the Red Wings the lead again at 3:30.

Detroit defenseman Steve Duchesne picked up a double minor for high-sticking Selanne in the face at 11:08. Four minutes for a struggling power play seemed just the thing to get the Ducks even again.

Wrong.

Niklas Lidstrom’s short-handed goal at 12:01 broke the Ducks’ backs and their spirits.

“The power-play unit let the other guys down,” Selanne said. “It’s been like that all year. If we had a good power play, it would make our game so much better.”

Asked what he was thinking when Duchesne went off for high-sticking him, Selanne said, “I thought now we have a chance. Then they scored and . . . “

And the Ducks beat a hasty retreat to Southern California after Saturday’s loss and an ugly 4-4 tie Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

If there was one shred of positive news from their loss Saturday, it was that the Ducks at least played sound hockey from start to finish. Friday, they squandered a four-goal lead against Carolina.

An afternoon meeting, rather than the traditional morning skate, seemed to get the Ducks back on track after Friday’s debacle. Given the quality of Saturday’s opponent and the difficult travel, Coach Craig Hartsburg seemed pleased by the Ducks’ showing.

“We gave ourselves a chance to get something out of this game,” he said. “We showed up ready to battle. We bounced back with a pretty good effort. It was a 2-2 hockey game in the third period. We got a chance on the power play [to make it 3-3], but I’m sure our tiredness didn’t help us. We need to go home now and regroup.”