Early Start Was Trouble

It was hard to tell that the Minnesota Wild was playing its fourth game in six days Saturday. Even in losing, 1-0, in double overtime to the Ducks, the Wild seemed to be the fresher team.

That blame was put, in part, on NHL officials Sunday.

Duck officials said they were originally told that Game 1 of the Western Conference final would be a night game. That changed late Thursday night, after Duck Coach Mike Babcock had called off a Friday practice, counting on a morning skate Saturday to keep the Ducks fresh. With a 2 p.m. start, no morning skate was possible.

“I got the call at 9 p.m. that the game was changed,” Babcock said. “I decided not to call the guys in a panic and have a skate Friday before we flew. I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Maybe that’s what we should have done.”

The Ducks were flat at the start Saturday and didn’t seem to get up to speed until overtime.

“I didn’t think we had our legs,” team captain Paul Kariya said. “We were a little off. It’s tough to take that much time off before a game.”

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Duck defenseman Keith Carney put in another long day Saturday, playing 39 minutes 1 second.

It is the third time in the playoffs Carney has topped 35 minutes in a game, usually playing against the opponents’ top scorers.

“It’s huge to have a guy as good as Keith who can play every other shift in overtime,” Kariya said. “He just keeps playing at the same level the whole game. He has done that all season.”

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Mike Leclerc, hobbled by a left knee that will need off-season surgery, has been involved in the Ducks’ last five game-winning goals. He has scored two and assisted on three, the last being a pass to Petr Sykora, who scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime Saturday.

“He has been fantastic,” Kariya said. “And you are only getting to see him at three-fourths of his skill.”

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Key stat: The Ducks won 64% of the faceoffs in Saturday’s victory. The Wild spent much of the game chasing the Ducks, trying to gain possession of the puck.

Odd stat: The Ducks were outshot again Saturday, 39-26. They have been outshot in 10 of 11 playoff games. They were even in shots, 32-32, against Dallas in Game 3 of the conference semifinals.

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Sykora, who led the Ducks with 34 goals in the regular season, had eight shots on goal Saturday after averaging fewer than three shots in the previous 10 playoff games.

Sykora has two goals in the postseason, both were game-winners in overtime.

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The Ducks are working to sign prospects Pierre Parenteau, Igor Pohanka and Joel Stepp by June 1.

All three will go back into the draft if they are not under contract.