Ex Is Why the Ducks Lose

Nashville’s Petr Tenkrat saw the red light on and triumphantly slammed his fist into the glass, took congratulations from his teammates, then pumped his fist all the way to the bench.

Just another satisfied member of the Ain’t It Great To Be a Former Mighty Duck Society.

Tenkrat’s second-period goal was the difference in the Predators’ 2-1 victory over the Ducks. Maybe this wasn’t sweet revenge, but celebrating before the 16,561 in the Gaylord Entertainment Center certainly didn’t leave a bad taste in Tenkrat’s mouth.

“Nashville made a good trade, huh?” Tenkrat said. “I have no idea why I was traded. I talk to myself, ‘What did I do bad in Anaheim?’ Right now, I’m in Nashville. I’m on my way.”

Duck players weren’t quite so upbeat. They had chances, gobs of them, but couldn’t even put the puck on the net at times. When they did, Predator goalie Mike Dunham was there, stopping 24 of 25 shots, allowing only a Jeff Friesen goal on a breakaway in the second period.

So the Ducks were left in a familiar position. Their winless streak was extended to eight games, one shy of the franchise’s longest, which they have matched once already this season.

“Just use the same quotes,” Duck Coach Bryan Murray said. “It’s the same story.”

There was a different subplot though.

The score was 1-1 when Tenkrat burst in from the blue line, turned defenseman Pavel Trnka in circles and fired a wobbly shot that somehow went in.

“I turned around and saw the red light behind the net,” Tenkrat said. “That was the first I knew.”

He didn’t waste any time celebrating.

Tenkrat, traded by the Ducks for Patric Kjellberg on Nov. 1, has six goals and 14 points in his last 13 games. He had no goals in nine games with the Ducks.

But a change from Anaheim has helped others--Teemu Selanne, Fredrik Olausson, Pascal Trepanier, Scott Young, Jim McKenzie, all former Ducks who are playoff-bound this season.

“After the trade, I was surprised,” Tenkrat said. “I was sent to [minor league] Cincinnati and they said, ‘You will be sent down for two games and after that we’ll see what is going on.’ In two games, I had five points and nothing happened after that. That’s long time ago. I’m in Nashville.”

Tenkrat has lots of company in the former Duck club.

In the last three-plus seasons, the Ducks have had 62 players, six assistant coaches, three head coaches and one general manager. Only six players remain from their playoff team of 1998-99.

Despite constant revamping, they are only a Columbus Blue Jacket surge from finishing last in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season.

“You have to start somewhere,” Duck goalie Steve Shields said. “The fact we created enough chances to score goals is something the guys have to hang their hats on right now until we become a better finishing team.”

Yet, the Ducks offensively just reran their version of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Good opportunities wasted.

Bad luck.

Ugly power play.

The Ducks were outshot, 14-3, in the first period but had plenty of chances. Kjellberg didn’t hold up his end of the trade as well. He had an open net before him and badly missed a chip shot.

“I was surprised that [the pass] got through and I tried shoot as quick as possible,” Kjellberg said. “I pretty much fanned on it. I should have scored.”

Andy McDonald and Samuel Pahlsson hit the post with shots. The Ducks were scoreless on four power plays, including a five-on-three advantage for 55 seconds in the second periods, when the score was 1-1.