Little Mistakes, Big Trouble

The Ducks are eight points out of a playoff spot. They have two victories in their last 14 games and are winless in their last four (0-3-1). They have upcoming games against the Sharks, Kings and Blues--three strong Western Conference rivals.

“This is not the time to get frustrated,” winger Mike Leclerc insisted. “We’ve got to stay positive. We’ve got to keep thinking positive. It’s no time to get negative.”

The Ducks’ heads and hearts would seem to be in the right places. They are not a lazy team or a particularly sloppy team. They have outshot the opposition in five of the last seven games, including by 33-26 in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Avoiding critical mistakes and playing with an even effort over the course of tonight’s game against San Jose is the key, according to captain Paul Kariya.

“We’re not a good enough team to flip a switch and turn our game on,” Kariya said. “We have to be consistent. We’ve played well in spurts. [But] we have to be concerned.”

Lately, it seems every turnover or defensive lapse results in a goal for the opposition. Some of it can be traced to bad luck, but opponents are feasting on mistakes the last few games.

“It’s poor execution,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “Right now, we’re making huge mistakes, mistakes you can’t make in this league and expect to win. We’ve had some good efforts. Unfortunately, we make bad mistakes. Some good hockey is getting wasted and that’s a problem.”

*

Kariya is 14 points shy of 500 for his career. He would become the first player from a 1990s expansion team to record 500 points with the same club. Kariya, who has 218 goals and 486 points in 402 games, is the leading scorer from all the 1990s expansion teams. Alexei Yashin of the Ottawa Senators is second with 423 points, including 185 goals, in 446 games.

TONIGHT

at San Jose, 7:30

Fox Sports Net 2

* Site--San Jose Arena.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 8-12-4-2, Sharks 14-5-2-0.

* Record vs. Sharks (1999-2000)--4-1-1.

* Update--The Ducks recalled forward Petr Tenkrat, 23, from Cincinnati of the American Hockey League. He had nine goals and 16 points in 22 games. A 4-1 victory Tuesday over the expansion Minnesota Wild vaulted the Sharks into the Pacific Division lead, eight points ahead of the Ducks, who are 11th in the conference. Vincent Damphousse had a goal and two assists against the Wild, extending his streak of points in consecutive games to eight. Evgeni Nabokov had started 17 of 18 games in goal for the Sharks, but Steve Shields made his first start since Nov. 9 and had 27 saves. Shields suffered a sprained right ankle Oct. 12 against the Phoenix Coyotes and has been slow to recover.