Ducks Are Bedeviled, Lose Game, Momentum

All the good work from the weekend evaporated for the Mighty Ducks. The two victories that ended a dismal tailspin were washed away.

Coach Craig Hartsburg talked about taking steps. The Ducks did . . . backward, losing to the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, Wednesday at the Arrowhead Pond.

An announced crowd of 13,932 saw the Ducks sustain their recent solid play for one period. They had shaken off the problems of a recent eight-game winless streak over the weekend and had been rewarded with two victories.

All they received Wednesday were a few bruises in a physical game that had several post-whistle scuffles.

The first period was played with the intensity of a Stanley Cup playoff game. The Devils, who won the Stanley Cup last season, sustained it longer.

They won the battles. They kept up the pressure. They came away with a three-game winning streak.

Jay Pandolfo scored two goals. Scott Niedermayer and Jason Arnott made successful returns from their holdouts. And goalie Martin Brodeur stopped almost everything, making 26 saves.

The Ducks?

“We are not going to win all 50-some games we have left,” Hartsburg said. “But if we play with energy and intensity, then that is taking steps forward.”

The Ducks didn’t take many steps Wednesday.

Defensemen Vitaly Visnevski and Pavel Trnka didn’t take any, allowing Pandolfo to slip in untouched. He picked up the puck after a kind bounce off the boards and lifted a backhand shot past goalie Guy Hebert to break a 1-1 tie at 8 minutes 42 seconds of the second period.

Hartsburg didn’t take a step later, when he allowed Hebert to remain in the game after being knocked down.

Hebert lay on the ice after being hit by teammate German Titov during a scrum in front of the net. Backup goalie Dominic Roussel had his mask on and stick in hand, ready to go. But Hebert remained.

Moments later Scott Gomez whipped a shot past Hebert for a 3-1 lead at 16:15. Roussel then entered the game.

On such details, the Ducks saw their two-game winning streak snuffed out.

“We have to make the safe play, especially in our own zone,” Duck defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky said. “We need to make simple plays.”

The Devils managed to do that throughout. They, too, had recent woes. They had a six-game winless streak before winning consecutive overtime games. They hoped to receive a bounce from the return of Niedermayer and Arnott, each of whom had been holdouts.

Each was rewarded financially, Niedermayer receiving a four-year, $16-million contract and Arnott a two-year, $6-million deal.

They paid immediate dividends.

Niedermayer whipped a shot from the blue line that Arnott deflected off Duck defenseman Niclas Havelid and past Roussel, giving the Devils a 4-1 lead at 12:09 of the third period.

Arnott, who scored an overtime goal to beat Dallas and give the Devils the Stanley Cup last spring, had two assists.

“It’s been very hard to sit and see the team play,” Niedermayer said. “Maybe those two overtime wins and Jason and I coming back will get something started.”

Niedermayer got the Devils started Wednesday by getting tripped by Teemu Selanne at 5:31 of the first period.

The Devils needed only six seconds to convert on the power play. Bobby Holik blasted a shot from the blue line that Hebert deflected.

Patrik Elias swooped in and lifted the rebound over the shoulder of a helpless Hebert for a 1-0 lead.

The Ducks had one shot through the first nine minutes, but managed four in 10 seconds to tie the score, Selanne getting the goal.

Cullen went behind the net and managed to center. He, Leclerc and Selanne went into a frenzy in front of the net and all three got off shots that a sprawling Brodeur managed to keep out. Selanne finally managed to slip the puck under Brodeur’s legs for his third goal in as many games.

Selanne and Cullen nearly gave the Ducks the lead 17 minutes into the first period. Selanne tried to jam the puck into the net, but it went off Brodeur’s pad. Cullen snatched the rebound in front, but hit the crossbar with a shot as he was falling backward.