This Loss Will Stick With Ducks

For one of the few times this season, the Mighty Ducks could be frustrated at the way they lost rather than at the mere fact that they lost.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere was working on another solid game Friday, accelerating his rise toward the top echelon of NHL goalies. After a flurry of activity that took mere seconds, he was hacking at the goal post, then flinging his stick up the ice.

That’s all it took to put the Colorado Avalanche on the road to a 3-1 victory in front of an announced 17,174 at the Arrowhead Pond Friday--technically a sellout, but no full house as evidenced by the large number of empty seats.

Giguere controlled his crease, but not the actions around it. Duck defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski covered the puck in the crease and the Avalanche was given a second-period penalty shot.

Chris Drury scored to snap a 1-1 tie. Giguere tossed his stick in anger.

“I wasn’t happy about the call, and I wasn’t happy about letting the goal in,” Giguere said. “Put two and two together and I just snapped.”

Things weren’t as simple as that. Rob Blake and Joe Sakic scored goals. The Avalanche defense was up to playoff speed, exemplified by Darius Kasparaitis, who had hard checks on a couple of Duck players.

The Ducks are preparing for other things. Golf tee times are around the corner. Vacations are approaching. A little rest and rehabilitation begin Monday for the Ducks.

Still, they go gently into a not-so-sweet off-season knowing that at least their goalie situation is in sure hands.

Giguere was solid Friday, stopping 29 of 32 shots. Blake scored 15 minutes into the first period, on a three-on-one. That goal, Giguere could live with. The tiebreaker was unacceptable.

The Avalanche created chaos in front of the Duck net. Drury, parked by the net, flipped a shot that Giguere stopped. The puck lay in the crease and Vishnevski seemed to cover it. Officials awarded a penalty shot.

Drury then neatly tucked a back-hander behind Giguere, who then slammed his stick against the goal post and tossed it out to center ice, resulting in a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

But it also showed competitiveness his teammates appreciate.

“Vish never actually had the puck,” Giguere said. “The puck was lying there available to everyone. I went in and grabbed it because I knew it was going to be a controversial call.”

Giguere has emerged as one of the NHL’s top goalies and earned a spot on Team Canada for the world championships later this month. He ranks among the league leaders in every category ... except victories.

“He plays like Patrick Roy,” Coach Bryan Murray said. “He has a big body and gets himself in a good position on the shooter.

“He has made progress. He is more careful back there, especially handling the puck. That’s maturity. He is going to be a big-time goaltender in this league.”

Giguere is a big reason the Ducks will allow fewer than 200 goals for the first time in a non-lockout season, barring a rout Sunday against the Kings. His record is only 20-24-6 because only Columbus has scored fewer goals than the Ducks this season.

Jeff Friesen got their lone goal Friday, tying the score, 1-1, eight minutes into the second period. He took a pass from Steve Rucchin and zipped a shot into the upper left corner of the net.

“I thought I shot it into the crowd,” Friesen said.

That has happened too often to too many Ducks this season.

“If our offense gets two goals, that’s a big night for us,” Murray said.