Ducks’ Bruce Boudreau issues loud wake-up call

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau finally had seen enough sloppy plays and missed passes Wednesday morning at Anaheim Ice.

It irritated him enough that he halted practice and launched into an expletive-laced blast at his players and their effort, looking much like the man who starred in last season’s “24/7” on HBO when he coached in Washington.

“I wasn’t happy with their practice the first half,” Boudreau said. “Maybe guys aren’t used to getting up at 7:30 in the morning or something. The day before a game you want to have a good practice.

“You expect a certain level of play and when you don’t get it, you can’t accept it. You have to push to get it better.... I have a moment I can get loud, I guess.”

The players said they knew they deserved to be ripped. Anaheim opens a three-game trip on Thursday night at Western Conference-leading St. Louis.

“We were sloppy,” Teemu Selanne said. “Sometimes before the flight, the mind is already on the flight. It wasn’t easy right away but it got better after the start. We have been pushing so hard for so many months already and sometimes in the practice it is still is not there.”

Said Bobby Ryan: “Things were just a little sluggish coming out, passes were a little sloppy. Sometimes he’s just gotta rein guys in and say something.

“He wasn’t too mad. He does it in a right way. He does in a way that makes you want to give a little more, makes you want to work that extra bit.”

Boudreau got the response he wanted at the practice facility. He said he didn’t need to call out his players after a dreadful second period against the Oilers on Monday, in which Edmonton outshot the Ducks, 22-8.

In fact, it was done for him.

“They were yelling at each other,” Boudreau said. “I’ve been in households where everybody is yelling and nobody gets anything out of it. I think my point was made when I came back in [the dressing room] when everything had settled down.

“It’s not like where I want you to think I just let it go. Bottom line, I said, ‘Everybody is yelling. It’s up to you. You know what’s on the line. If you don’t want it and you’ve worked 2 1/2 months to get to this position and you don’t want it, play the way you are playing.’”

Timing, he said. It is all about picking the right spot.

“I want to make sure when I’m losing it, I have the right effect on them,” Boudreau said.

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