Four-on-Four Has Been a Formula for Failure

The next time the Mighty Ducks have to play four-on-four, they should treat it as a penalty kill.The Ducks have given up five goals when both teams are a man short.

“Early [in the season] we were so good on four-on-four,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “But that shows how fragile our confidence is. We gave up a winning goal in overtime [at Edmonton on Wednesday] and then gave up one [at Vancouver on Thursday].”

With a talented open ice player in Paul Kariya and a good skating defenseman in Oleg Tverdovsky, the Ducks should be tough to stop in those situations. That hasn’t been the case. The Ducks have not only had trouble clearing the puck but haven’t been able to capitalize on good scoring chances.

“I like to think you make your own breaks out there and we’ve got a lot to learn,” Kariya said. “We’re close [to winning], but we’re making mistakes by playing poorly defensively. There’s not many teams who can play offense first, and a team in our position can’t look to play offensively first.”

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Defenseman Keith Carney, who missed the last 14 games because of a chipped bone in his right hand, joined the Ducks in Vancouver and skated Friday. Although Carney, the team’s most consistent player in the first month of the season, did not practice with the team, it’s a sign that he’s closer to returning to the lineup.

“He feels a lot stronger and has been pain-free for the most part, so he’s not far away,” Murray said about Carney. “It would be huge to get him back. The next guy we need to get back would be [Steve] Rucchin.”

Rucchin, who has missed 12 games because of a fractured left tibia, may start skating soon, according to Murray.

TONIGHT

at Calgary, 6

Site--Pengrowth Saddledome.

Radio--KDIS (710).

Records--Ducks 8-17-3-1; Flames 14-7-6-2.

Record vs. Flames--0-0-1.

Update--This will be the third game of a four-game trip for the Ducks, who are 3-10-1 on the road this season. Calgary forward Jarome Iginla leads the league in scoring with 41 points.