Giguere Didn’t Care Much for Opening Gig

It was difficult to pin the blame for the Ducks’ 3-2 loss Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers on goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Sure, he gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced in his Duck debut. But the goals came on breakaways by two skillful players in the Oilers’ Anson Carter and Doug Weight.

“It was not the best way to start,” said Giguere, who made 15 saves. “It would have been better to get a couple of easy shots first.”

Of Weight’s goal, which gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead 10:04 into the game, Giguere said: “I’d like to see it on the replay. He’s a skilled player and it was him against me. I have to make him make the first move there.”

Weight faked out Giguere and everyone else in the arena by shooting instead of passing as he swept in from the right wing.

On the third goal, Carter’s shot from the right wing struck defenseman Ruslan Salei before hitting the back of the net on only the Oilers’ 10th shot of the game.

“I didn’t see it,” Giguere said. “It went off Rusty.”

Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg praised Giguere, recalled from Cincinnati of the American Hockey League after Guy Hebert suffered a shoulder injury Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils. Giguere was 6-5-1 with a 2.27 goals-against average in 12 games for Cincinnati.

“I feel sorry for Giguere,” said Hartsburg, who indicated Hebert probably would not be ready to play Tuesday against the Canucks in Vancouver.

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Giguere became only the seventh player in the team’s eight-season history to tend goal, joining Hebert, Dominic Roussel, Mikhail Shtalenkov, Mike O’Neill, Tom Askey and Ron Tugnutt . . . Center German Titov was sidelined for a second game because of dizziness stemming from a hard check Wednesday by New Jersey’s Scott Stevens.