Giguere Has Time to Sit and Think

As far as movie parallels go, the Mighty Ducks have crafted a B-flick along the lines of “Dude, Where’s Our Jiggy?”

The Ducks, of course, will know where goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere is tonight against Dallas: on the bench. When he returns to the lineup is an unanswered inquiry.

“The way things have gone, we have to live in the present, survive and get the team going,” said Coach Mike Babcock, whose team limped home from an 0-3-1 trip. “The focus is on Dallas and getting our team to regroup.”

That puts Martin Gerber in net tonight and, as numbers go, he seems the Ducks’ best bet.

Gerber has a 2.37 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. While those are a bit worse than the numbers he had last year, they are far better than what Giguere has done thus far this season.

Giguere ranks near Martin Brodeur and Dominik Hasek ... in salary. His stats, however, are in the Pasi Nurminen and Ty Conklin class. Of the last 52 shots he has seen, Giguere has given up nine goals.

“I see the puck well and I’m working real hard in practice,” Giguere said after Friday’s loss to Atlanta.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but it’s a team game out there. If we want to get out of this, we’re going to have to get out as a team. It’s not one guy, it’s all 20 guys responsible.”

Babcock agreed.

“We’re not pointing any fingers,” he said.

Having only 10, that would leave Babcock a few digits short in explaining the Ducks’ -- and Giguere’s -- situation. A 2.91 goals-against average and .905 save percentage cannot be put entirely on his NHL-legal shoulder pads.

The way the Ducks have played defense, Giguere should come stamped “don’t fold, spindle or mutilate.” He was yanked from the previous two games -- a 7-2 loss to Detroit and 6-2 loss to Atlanta -- but there was plenty of blame to go around.

“We didn’t give the type of defensive support he would like,” Babcock said. “The bottom line is we’re all in this together. Jiggy is the cornerstone of the franchise and we need him to be the cornerstone. We have to provide him the opportunity to be that.”

When that opportunity will come, Babcock would not say.

“I know we’re playing Dallas [tonight] and Gerbs is going,” Babcock said.

So for tonight, at least, Giguere gets the corner seat rather than the chance to be the cornerstone.

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The Ducks will be without winger Rob Niedermayer, who has already sat out two games because of a groin injury. Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh is questionable because of a rib cage injury.

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TODAY

vs. Dallas, 5 p.m., Fox Sports Net 2, ESPN 2

Site -- Arrowhead Pond.

Radio -- XPRS (1090).

Records -- Ducks 8-10-4-5, Stars 11-13-3-0.

Record vs. Stars -- 0-1-1.

Update -- The Stars, who lost to San Jose, 2-1, Saturday, have won only four of their last 16 games. Star center Mike Modano, quoted in the Dallas papers, could have been speaking for both teams when he said, “Talk is good, but eventually you have to take it out on the ice.”

Tickets -- (877) 945-3946.