McDonald Emerges Unscathed From Hit

Finding bright spots in the Mighty Ducks’ 3-2 loss to Edmonton on Sunday would take a “CSI” team. In fact, the only silver lining in an extremely dark cloud might have been that Andy McDonald got up.

McDonald was clobbered in front of the net early in the first period, a hit so hard that his helmet flew into the corner. It was a scary moment for McDonald, who sat out 36 games and the Stanley Cup playoffs because of a concussion last season.

Although he looked groggy for a moment, McDonald played on. In fact, moments later, his persistence around the net paid off, as he scored to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.

McDonald treated the incident as just another post-concussion test.

“It’s a little scary at times,” said McDonald, who did not return to the lineup until the fourth game of this season. “You get back to the bench and realize you’re OK and that you took a pretty good hit. I feel more confident in the fact that I have taken some hits and seem to be OK with it.”

As bad as things are for the Ducks at the moment, they would be so much worse if McDonald joined those on the already crowded injury list. Besides having six goals and 17 points -- third on the team -- McDonald is a high-energy guy who goes to the net, which few Ducks seem willing to do.

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How to frustrate a coach: The Ducks have a 3-0-1-1 record against Toronto, Philadelphia, New Jersey and St. Louis, four of the top five NHL teams in points after Sunday’s games. Yet, the Ducks are 1-3-2 against Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas and Minnesota, all last-place teams in their respective divisions.

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Defenseman Niclas Havelid was on the ice for all three Edmonton goals Sunday. That left him at minus-17 for the season, tying him with Pittsburgh’s Matt Bradley for the NHL low in plus-minus.

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With four days off before playing Colorado on Friday, the Ducks hope to mend.

Defenseman Keith Carney, sidelined by back problems, said he hoped to play against the Avalanche, the same hope he’d had the two previous games. Rob Niedermayer (groin) and Sandis Ozolinsh (ribs) were unsure whether they would be ready.