Against Sabres, Ducks Just Don’t Have It
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Maybe it happened somewhere along the freeway here from Toronto. Or in their drab downtown hotel rooms. Or perhaps upon entering tomb-like Marine Midland Arena.
No matter when or where, it was clear the Mighty Ducks lost their spark and their smarts Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres. One night after a third-period rally in Toronto, the Ducks were hammered by the opportunistic Sabres, 4-0, before an announced 11,654.
Nothing clicked for the Ducks, who trailed by three goals only 4:56 into the second period and could not mount a comeback against the defensive-minded Sabres.
The Ducks seemed to be skating through quicksand, took unwise penalties, failed to kill them off and could not capitalize on a two-man advantage that stretched from late in the first period to early in the second.
Donald Audette, Brian Holzinger and Miroslav Satan, who had two, scored Buffalo’s goals. The Ducks got nothing against Sabre goaltender Dominik Hasek, who stopped 29 shots in recording his second shutout of the season.
“The guys didn’t have the right frame of mind,†Duck Coach Pierre Page said. “We felt too good about ourselves after the Toronto game. We weren’t ready for Buffalo. I didn’t see the urgency. They were all over us.
“The amazing thing was that we played well in the third period, which says something about our conditioning. But there has to be something wrong with our mental preparation.â€
So, the Ducks finished their three-game series against last-place teams with an 0-2-1 record.
They lost, 3-2, in overtime Saturday to the Calgary Flames, last in the Pacific Division.
They rallied in the third period for a 3-3 tie Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, last in the Central.
And they were shut out by Buffalo, last in the Northeast.
Next up Saturday are the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Northeast co-leaders with the Montreal Canadiens.
After a promising start to the trip with a solid, 3-1 victory last Friday over the Edmonton Oilers, the Ducks need a victory over the Penguins to break even at 2-2-1.
Oh, by the way, Pittsburgh has the NHL’s longest current winning streak at six games.
Page considered giving the team, which played its fourth game in six nights, a day off today. With the NHL schedule compressed because of the two-week break for the Nagano Olympics in February, it seemed a wise move.
Besides, it has worked in the Ducks’ favor after a poor game as recently as last week. The Ducks did not practice after a 5-0 loss Nov. 24 to the Dallas Stars and rebounded with a 2-0 victory two days later over the New Jersey Devils.
“You can’t be stupid,†Page said. “The last time we went on a tailspin it was because we didn’t take a day off. It’s a weird year because of the schedule. You see a lot of weird scores because of it. It’s important to take a day off, get mad and regroup.â€
The Ducks seemed to know precisely why they lost Wednesday. In addition to Page’s notion of poor mental preparation, they said lackluster special teams play also played a key role.
But did the Ducks also take the Sabres, winners of only seven games before Wednesday, too lightly?
“Oh, I hope not,†said captain Teemu Selanne, held without a point for the second consecutive game. “I don’t think we can afford to do that. . . . We didn’t deserve to win.â€
Center Mark Janssens had a different take on the loss.
“I think the key to the game was special teams,†Janssens said. “Our penalty kill let in two goals and one other right after the guy came out of the box. And our power play didn’t score.â€
Go beyond the scoreboard
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