Ducks Feel the Heat From the Flames, 4-1

The Mighty Ducks fooled ‘em for a while, playing a spirited team game that got results while captain Paul Kariya rehabilitated his bruised right foot.

However, it was painfully obvious in a 4-1 loss Friday to the Calgary Flames that grit and teamwork will get the Ducks only so far without Kariya.

Coach Craig Hartsburg and the rest of the Ducks refused to use Kariya’s absence as an excuse, but what team wouldn’t miss a player with 35 goals and 69 points?

Yes, the Ducks miss Kariya’s skill and flair with the puck. But who else on their roster can step in and play with the same speed and smarts on their power-play and penalty-killing units?

The Ducks were one for four on their power play, but gave up two power-play goals Friday.

It’s been more than two weeks since Kariya was injured blocking a shot by Calgary defenseman Derek Morris in the Ducks’ 6-5 overtime victory Feb. 16 at the Arrowhead Pond.

The Ducks were 2-1-1 in their first four games without Kariya, but they lost in similar fashion on consecutive nights to the Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

In each game, the Ducks were outplayed, outshot and outscored in the pivotal first period. Their power play wasn’t very good in either game. They also failed to take care of the puck.

“We know Paul is out, but there’s no excuses,” right wing Teemu Selanne said. “We played great without him the first four games or so. We found a way to win.”

With Kariya out for fifth and sixth games, the Canucks and Flames focused their defensive efforts on muzzling Selanne. It worked. Selanne was held without a goal or an assist in each game.

As a result, the 10th-place Ducks fell three points behind the ninth-place Flames, who are a point behind the eighth-place San Jose Sharks and seventh-place Colorado Avalanche.

“It’s got to be very frustrating for him,” said Calgary center Jason Wiemer, who shadowed Selanne from start to finish. “He’s got guys on him all the time. Without Kariya, it’s one less option for them--a big option.”

After victories earlier in the week over the Edmonton Oilers and the Sharks, the Ducks stumbled into a familiar pattern north of the border.

“It’s been going on all season,” defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky said. “We play two good games, then come out brain dead. . . . This can’t happen.”

The first of two goals by Jarome Iginla gave Calgary the lead 6:04 into the game. Iginla has 12 goals and 13 assists during a 15-game point streak.

As in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Vancouver, the Ducks didn’t get their skates moving until midway through the third period.

Kip Miller’s power-play goal at 7:17 of the third ended goalie Fred Brathwaite’s shutout bid. But Valeri Bure, Jeff Cowan and Iginla (again) had scored by then to pad the Flames’ lead.

Iginla’s second goal sent Guy Hebert to the bench in favor of backup Dominic Roussel 42 seconds into the third period. Miller’s second third-period goal in as many nights came far too late to ignite a Duck rally.

“All the right things were said,” Tverdovsky said. “We had a plan.”

The Ducks then came out as flat as an Alberta wheat field. The speedy Flames had something to do with it, outshooting the Ducks, 14-4, in the first period.

“We weren’t even in the hockey game,” Hartsburg said. “Calgary outplayed us. No excuses. No reason for it. We weren’t very good. In the first period, they took the game over, took the momentum and kept it. There’s no excuse for the way we played.

“We might miss Paul’s play. We might lose a game without him. But we didn’t lose this game because Paul wasn’t in the lineup. There wasn’t a guy who could say he played well tonight.”

There’s no time to mope about Friday’s loss, however. The Ducks play host to the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Perhaps the only shred of encouraging news for the Ducks is that Kariya is expected to skate lightly this weekend for the first time since Feb. 19.