Duck Win Goes Up in Smoke

Somehow Steve Rucchin managed a smile, even a chuckle, when asked about what should have been a moment to savor.

As hats floated to the ice, he had lost his hat trick when the Mighty Ducks were called for too many men on the ice.

The Ducks then lost a two-goal lead in the last 13 minutes and had to settle for a 4-4 tie with the Florida Panthers Sunday.

There was a general loss for words afterward as to how this all happened.

Rucchin, though, knew there were others who suffered among the announced 13,254 at the Arrowhead Pond.

“I feel bad for the people who lost their hats,” Rucchin said. “I said on the bench, ‘If it was me, I wouldn’t be too thrilled about losing my hat for nothing.’ I guess the fans have to take that one up with the refs.”

Maybe the only thing left for the Ducks was to try to laugh off this loss.

They thoroughly dominated the game, with a moment to cherish when Rucchin appeared to polish off his first career hat trick 6 minutes 48 seconds into the third period. Once the referees started waving their arms, nothing went right.

Instead of a 5-2 lead, the Ducks had to kill a power play. Instead of burying an inferior opponent, they saw the Panthers tie the score with 13.3 seconds left. Instead of another two points in the standings, they were left with one after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period for the third time this season.

“I didn’t know what exactly happened,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “Rucchin is in for a hat trick, the game is over and they say we have too many guys on the ice. There was no one more shocked than me when that happened.”

The search for silver linings began the moment Florida’s Kristian Huselius, alone at the side of the net, redirected Sandis Ozolinsh’s blue-line shot past goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to tie the score, 4-4.

“These are the games we have to win,” Giguere said. “There is no excuse about it. We should have won this game tonight.”

So stunning was the turn of events, Duck players and their coach couldn’t even keep the story straight on Huselius’ goal and why he was alone near the post.

“[The puck] got hit in front and went in another direction,” Babcock said. “It was going to the left side and ended up on the right side.”

Said Giguere: “The puck was actually going wide. Their guy got a stick on it, deflected it into the net.”

There was a lot to sort out after this one.

The Ducks had chances to salvage their Sunday in overtime. Rucchin hit the post. Florida’s Jani Hurme made a toe save on a Niclas Havelid try. Those efforts merely made a frustrating game unexplainable.

“At no point, in my mind, did they dominate the game or take the game over,” Babcock said. “Yet the mental mistake cost us.”

Victory seemed a mere formality. Rucchin had two first-period goals. Andy McDonald knocked in a power play goal. Kevin Sawyer chipped in his second goal of the season and third of his career.

All was right for the Ducks. After all, the Panthers had only 13 shots through the first 46 minutes.

Then Rucchin intercepted a pass at the blue line, had the time and open ice for a triple axel or two. He waited out Hurme before shooting.

Hats flew.

Arms waved.

The Ducks, on a line change at the time, had nearly enough players on the ice to shoot a team portrait.

“That doesn’t happen too often, huh?” Rucchin said. “It was very strange, no question about it. That was a huge turning point, obviously....

“That would have been 5-2, and a lot nicer cushion. Then, not only do we have a goal taken away, but we had to kill a penalty.”

The Ducks couldn’t. Niklas Hagman came across the blue line and unleashed a wicked shot that beat Giguere high, making the score 4-3, 8:26 into the third period.

“We’re up 5-2, and the whistle blows and we have too many guys on the ice, I guess,” Babcock said. “They wouldn’t call it if it wasn’t.”

Leaving him unable to laugh this one off.