Word Has It That Ducks Lose

Finding the right words to describe the Mighty Ducks’ effort Saturday was easy.

Even finding the right word was a snap.

After watching his team fluctuate between listless and comatose at the start, Coach Mike Babcock didn’t need a Webster’s Dictionary to sum up the Ducks’ 4-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes in front of an announced 14,451 at the America West Arena.

In fact, Babcock may have set an indoor record for coach-speak repetition.

“It’s called preparation,” Babcock said. “At this time of the year, it’s all about preparation. It doesn’t matter who you are playing, if you are not prepared, they are going to embarrass you....The bottom line is, if you don’t get prepared you are not going to win. It started in goal, moved up to the defense and the forwards and even to the guys behind the bench. We didn’t get them prepared.”

What the Ducks seemed prepared for was a quick exit.

The Ducks, winners of five of six, were down, 3-0, 15 minutes into game. The fallout was extensive.

Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere was yanked six minutes into the game. Paul Kariya missed an open net, firing a shot off the post in the first period and had a goal-less streak extended to nine games. Steve Rucchin, the Ducks’ best defensive center, was on the ice for two goals. The power play dipped from woeful to pitiful, missing six more chances, although one lasted for only six seconds before the Ducks’ Mike Leclerc was sent to the box.

The upside was that this was only one loss, but one that kept the Ducks tied with Minnesota for sixth place and allowed eight-place Edmonton to creep to within four points in the standings.

“We’re all big boys here,” Kariya said. “We should all know by now what we need to do to be ready to play. You’re not going to win every game, but it is not acceptable to come out like we did tonight. We made it a big hill to climb.”

The Coyotes had not scored a first-period goal since Feb. 21, a span of 11 games. They had been out-scored, 10-0, in the first period during that stretch.

And the Coyotes did have only eight shots in the first period. Three of them were goals.

Brian Savage skated around Sandis Ozolinsh, pulled up and fired a wrist shot that seemed to catch Giguere by surprise for a 1-0 lead 4:45 into the game, and it was a slippery slope for the Ducks from then on.

Ladislav Nagy scored the first of his two goals on a power play, when he was left alone in front of the net and tucked in a backhand shot for a 2-0 lead. It ended the Ducks’ streak of 20 consecutive power plays without giving up a goal.

Out went Giguere and in came Martin Gerber. He was greeted by a Nagy goal after Mike Johnson centered a pass that went past Rucchin and defenseman Niclas Havelid.

“We were watching TV on that one,” Babcock said.

Of course, as far as reruns went, there was the Duck power play, which came into the game goal-less in its last 19 chances.

This was the resistible force against the movable object, as the Coyotes had given up 12 power-play goals in their last five games. Still, the Ducks couldn’t get one.

“We’re trying to force it out there,” Rucchin said.

A power-play goal would have come in handy. Goals by Jason Krog and Mike Leclerc pulled the Ducks to within a goal with 18 minutes left.