This Loss Leaves Bad Taste

The Mighty Ducks sure let one get away Tuesday night.

Despite outshooting the Red Wings, 30-27, and dominating much of the third period, the Ducks lost, 2-1, to the defending Stanley Cup champions because of two gift-wrapped goals they gave up in front of 20,058 at Joe Louis Arena.

“We stuck to our game plan and tried to work through the bad goals but it just wasn’t enough,” Duck defenseman Keith Carney said.

Duck goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was solid all night except for two bizarre plays that led to goals for the Red Wings, who have won all three of their games against the Ducks this season.

The Red Wings fired 14 shots on goal in the opening period, led by Brendan Shanahan’s six and Brett Hull’s four. But for much of the period, Giguere was up to the challenge until giving up a weak unassisted goal to Detroit’s Sean Avery.

With less than three minutes remaining in the first period, Avery retrieved a loose puck near the end boards in the Duck zone and fired a deflected shot toward the left post. Giguere was not caught off guard by the shot but lost sight of the puck, which squeezed into the net.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead early in the second period on another bad goal.

Winger Henrik Zetterberg got the play started for the Red Wings when he sent a deflected pass to the front of the net, which seemed to be an easy play for Giguere. But as the puck rolled to the left side of the slot, Giguere had trouble gaining control in order to stop play and Hull slapped the puck into the net for his 10th goal at 2:19.

“It’s very frustrating,” Giguere said. “I felt great tonight and was seeing the puck very good and thought I was making some good saves.”

The Ducks, who had a four-game unbeaten streak stopped and suffered only their second loss in regulation since Nov. 3, got back into the game late in the second on a power-play goal from Paul Kariya.

With Shanahan in the penalty box, the Ducks made their first man-advantage situation count. With Steve Rucchin providing traffic in front of the net, Kariya was able to pick up a rebound at the right circle and beat Detroit goaltender Curtis Joseph at 16:20 for his 12th goal, cutting the Red Wing lead to 2-1.

But that was as close as the Ducks would get, even though they outshot the Red Wings, 11-6, over the final 20 minutes and had three power-play opportunities.

For Coach Mike Babcock, the defeat was disappointing but considering that the Ducks were outshot, 45-26, in an overtime loss the last time they were in Detroit, Tuesday’s effort was a major improvement.

“You come in here and feel the aura of the Stanley Cup champions

“We gave them two goals and that frustrates you.... We’ve improved a lot as a team and you’d like to see us find a way to get that one tonight.”

The Ducks, who are a game above .500, hope to start a new streak.

“We expect success now,” Carney said. “We’re comfortable on the road where we can come into buildings like Detroit and believe that we’ll come away with at least a point.”