Time to Increase Effort in Crease

It’s always something with these Mighty Ducks.

If their power play isn’t on the fritz, then the penalty-killing unit isn’t doing its job. When they’re scoring, they can’t defend. When they’re defending well, they can’t score.

Coach Craig Hartsburg issued a challenge Monday to Guy Hebert and Dominic Roussel, asking the goaltenders for sharper performances as the Ducks head into their final 33 games of the season.

The other parts of the Ducks’ game, including their beleaguered power play, appear to be coming together. But their goaltending must improve dramatically if they are to challenge for a playoff berth.

The Ducks, who reach the 50-game mark Wednesday against the New York Islanders at the Arrowhead Pond, are 10th in the Western Conference. The top eight advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“Over the last 15 games, our goaltending isn’t as good as it should be,” Hartsburg said. “It can be better. We need it to be better. It has to be better. Let’s not kid ourselves.”

The numbers don’t lie.

On Dec. 19, after a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the Ducks were 17-13-4-1. They had given up 74 goals, including three empty-net goals for a goals-against average of 2.07. Their save percentage was .929.

But in the 15 games since, the Ducks are 3-10-2. They have given up 54 goals, including two empty-net goals for a goals-against average of 3.45. Their save percentage is .845.

The Ducks’ shots-against average has remained steady at about 27 per game, down from 32 last season. Hebert and Roussel simply haven’t come up with the key saves, according to Hartsburg.

For instance, Hebert gave up four goals on 22 shots Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks and three goals on 15 shots Friday in a 3-3 tie with the Colorado Avalanche.

“I know [Hartsburg] is unhappy,” Hebert said. “But he’s not as unhappy as I am. I told him, ‘You’re not any more frustrated than I am.’ ”

Roussel, who was in goal for a 5-0 loss Jan. 17 to the Buffalo Sabres, wasn’t surprised to learn of Hartsburg’s disappointment during a meeting Monday morning.

“I was thinking the same thing exactly,” Roussel said. “My win-loss record [5-3-2 in 13 games this season] is good, but my goals-against average [2.98] isn’t good enough.”

Hebert, who is expected to start against the Islanders, is 15-20-4 with a 2.34 goals-against average in 39 appearances this season.

Hartsburg went off on a rant after Saturday’s loss at San Jose, railing about Hebert’s inability to produce a big save when the Ducks needed one in the final two periods.

Hartsburg refused to identify which of the Sharks’ four goals he believed Hebert should have stopped. But Hebert was upset by Tony Granato’s goal late in the second period, a quick shot that gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead.

The Ducks rallied for a 3-3 tie early in the final period, but Hebert gave up a power-play goal to Marco Sturm for the game-winner at the 11:54 mark.

Hebert said he should have dropped to his knees to let Granato’s shot hit him, rather than playing for the San Jose winger to make a move before shooting.

Hebert is an easy-going fellow, not prone to spending hours brooding over losses. He doesn’t smash sticks if things don’t go his way. But he admitted to spending a chunk of Sunday evening reviewing Saturday’s performance in his mind.

During Monday’s practice, Hebert said he was determined to play more by instinct.

“I tried to play it a lot simpler today,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to [play a particular style]. I was watching the puck off the stick and then making my save.”

Hebert hasn’t been alone in thinking too much on the ice.

“I tried to do too much,” Roussel said of his start against Buffalo. “I was handling the puck too much.”

It cost Roussel and the Ducks an embarrassing fifth goal in the final seconds of the game. Buffalo’s Miroslav Satan took the puck away from Roussel, who tried unsuccessfully to stickhandle behind the net, and stuffed it home.

“[Early in the game,] I was trying to get something going offensively, passing the puck up to the blue line,” Roussel said. “It’s something I’ve got to stay away from. [Satan’s goal] was a good example. All I had to do was shoot the puck forward and around the boards. There were only four seconds left.

“Instead, I tried to backhand it. It taught me a lesson.”

In the final analysis, it’s not as if Hartsburg is asking for the impossible from Hebert and Roussel. After all, together they have the league’s 12th-best goals-against average (2.58).

Hartsburg simply wants them at the top of their games as the Ducks begin their stretch drive. Hartsburg understands goaltending is a difficult job, but he has seen Hebert and Roussel at their best earlier this season. He wants to see it again.

“I wouldn’t want my son to play that position,” said Hartsburg, whose son, Chris, plays forward for Colorado College. “It’s the most important position on a hockey team. We think we have two quality goaltenders.

“It’s time for them to take charge.”