Ducks Are Not Flameproof

Defenseman Kurt Sauer gushed forth, in a nearly high-pitched voice, all the frustration that has welled up inside the Mighty Duck dressing room this season.

A 6-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday pretty much put the illusion of a post-All-Star break playoff run to rest for the Ducks. The fallout was laced with bewilderment and anger.

Just two days after a thrilling overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche -- tops in the NHL in points -- the Ducks reverted to what has become their form, losing to a Flame club that hardly ranks among the league’s top teams.

While the 15,189 in the Pengrowth Saddledome filed out, Sauer struggled to pinpoint the reason for the Ducks’ inconsistency.

“I think we have been trying to figure that out all season,” Sauer said. “We knew what we had to do here. So what do we do? We come out and just trade chances with them. That’s not our game.”

This, though, was a continuation of the Ducks’ winter of discontent, which will almost certainly lead to an early spring -- they are 13 points out of a playoff spot with 29 games left.

“We’re two goals down from almost the start,” Sauer said. “We don’t play tough on anybody. What can the goalie do? It’s frustrating and it’s bad.”

Bad, as in getting four points from Sergei Fedorov -- a goal and three assists -- and losing. Bad as in getting three points from Petr Sykora -- a goal and two assists -- and losing. Bad as in scoring four goals and losing -- the Ducks were 8-0-1 in games in which they scored at least four goals.

Yet, that offense was wasted, as the Flames scored five goals on their first 14 shots.

“You get four goals, you’ve got to win the hockey game,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “ ... We’re a better team than that.”

The Ducks had appointed this stretch before the All-Star break as the time to make their move, but failed to win consecutive games for the third time in the last two weeks.

They continued a season-long trend of playing well against the NHL elite and struggling against the proletariat. They have a 7-5-1-1 record against the league’s six division leaders. They are 2-6-1 against the five last-place teams.

“When we play against those big teams, we’re well prepared,” goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “We’re looking forward to the matchup. We know if we don’t play well, we’re going to be embarrassed. I guess we’re not as scared in playing against the other teams. That is definitely a mistake. Right now, pretty much every team in the NHL is better than us.”

The Flames scored five goals from the edge of the crease, three on passes from behind the net.

Craig Conroy, Martin Gelinas and Chris Clark scored -- all on point-blank shots -- in the first 11 minutes 29 seconds to build a 3-1 lead. Clark, Shean Donovan and Dean McAmmond scored the last three goals to keep the Ducks at arms’ length.

Martin Gerber gave up three goals on the first eight shots before being replaced by Giguere, who gave up two on the first six shots against him.