Road Remains a Sore Point

The numbers tell the story.

The Mighty Ducks are 3-8-3 on the road, a mark that ranks among the worst in the NHL. Their three victories are tied for last with two bottom-feeders: the Florida Panthers and tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With a three-game trip that also works its way through St. Louis and Nashville, the Ducks say that must immediately change if they have any plans for reaching the postseason.

“We’re battling for a playoff spot right now,” forward Tyler Wright said Tuesday. “For us to continue to climb that ladder, you’ve got to be able to win on the road.”

The Ducks are vastly different at home with a 13-6-3 record, but their road woes are why they are tied for ninth in the Western Conference with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere came up with one reason the Ducks play so poorly away from home.

“I think it’s important that we have better starts on the road,” Giguere said. “Too often, we’re trailing 1-0 or 2-0 after 10 minutes. Even though in today’s hockey you can come back from that score, but it’s not easy.

“Most teams that are in the playoffs will play around .500 on the road. We shouldn’t accept less than that.”

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After a long flight, the Ducks went through a rare practice session at the Blue Jackets’ practice rink inside Nationwide Arena, something Coach Randy Carlyle said was necessary to shake off any rust built up from four days off over the Christmas holiday.

“We were much better today than yesterday,” Carlyle said. “A vast improvement. I’d suspect we’d be that much better [this] morning.”

An extended break can sometimes have a negative effect to a team that is playing well. The Ducks are 8-3-2 since a Nov. 23 road loss at Dallas, but Carlyle said they needed the rest.

“That’s the one thing coaches worry about,” he said. “You have some things going for yourself and then all of a sudden you get a four-day break and it blows your momentum.

“What we’re saying is that’s inexcusable. We have an opportunity here to continue to build with this group and that’s what we’re going to push for. We can be better than two games over .500.”

Said Giguere: “Rest is a weapon in this league. Hopefully we’ll make the most out of it.”

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Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, on injured reserve because of a strained left knee, was excused for a second consecutive day because of personal reasons, although it was unclear when or if the seven-time All-Star would join the Ducks on the trip.

Carlyle wouldn’t divulge any specifics on Ozolinsh’s absence other than to say the issue may be family-related.

Ozolinsh, who remained in California during the holiday, wasn’t expected to play until either Saturday in St. Louis or Sunday in Nashville despite showing improvement with his knee.

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TONIGHT

at Columbus, 4 PST

Site -- Nationwide Arena.

Radio -- 1090.

Records -- Ducks 16-14-6; Blue Jackets 10-25-1.

Record vs. Blue Jackets -- 1-0-0.

Update -- Center Sergei Fedorov will be playing his first game against his former team since the Nov. 15 trade. The one-time league most valuable player has one goal and seven assists in 18 games with the Blue Jackets. Columbus broke a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory at home Monday against Chicago on Nikolai Zherdev’s dramatic tying goal in regulation and Jaroslav Balastik’s winner in overtime.