What we learned from the Ducks’ 2-0 loss in St. Louis

There’s going to be some duds, clunkers, whatever you want to call them over the course of 82 games, and Thursday night’s 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues was that for the Ducks.

Facing a team wracked by injuries, hours after Blues Coach Ken Hitchcock admitted his group was “scrambling,� the Ducks were beset by a lack of urgency, sloppiness and fell far shy of matching the passion they played with two nights earlier in a shutout win in Chicago.

It was human nature for the Ducks to feel they had this one in the bag, knowing they’d beaten the Blues four consecutive times dating to last season, including a 3-0 shutout on Oct. 19, and knowing that four players who are paid 25 percent of St. Louis’ salary cap were on the shelf.

Didn’t happen.

“You lose those four key parts of our team -- our captain [David Backes] -- but to be able to see guys step up … I had to do my part,� backup Blues goaltender Jake Allen said after a 24-save shutout.

“Every team in the league is going to have losses, unfortunately we have them right now. So just to see everyone step up and stick together … guys were sacrificing themselves tonight, and it was a big win.�

You guys with no goals, the coach has noticed

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau says his players need to realize that every team will be “targeting� first-line center Ryan Getzlaf and right wing Corey Perry, especially on the road, and that others need to pick up the slack.

But forwards Emerson Etem, Jakob Silfverberg, Nate Thompson and Rickard Rakell have yet to score a goal through 11 games.

“You want them to score … we’re not sitting them,� Boudreau said. “We might sit them down, show them some positive clips of them going well, show them what they were doing. You don’t sit guys if they’re trying. There are some guys who have played really well who haven’t scored, now they had an off game.�

This isn’t a Harlem Globetrotters’ hockey game

“We’re trying to make the impossible play,� Boudreau said of Thursday’s performance. “We’re trying to put sauce on the puck, throw it over two guys’ heads and land it on a guy’s stick when the easy plays are there. You make the easy plays, you get into the other team’s zone.�

Flat loss provides motivation

The loss sparked some fire in the eyes as the Ducks turn around for a back-to-back at Dallas, the team Anaheim eliminated in six games in last season’s Western Conference first round.

After whiffing on a pass that Blues forward Ryan Reaves took and delivered a third-period goal, Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler took full responsibility for the lapse.

“Fan on the pass, it goes right to the guy … no excuse,� Fowler said. “You’ve got to have a short memory in this league. … We didn’t meet [St. Louis’] work ethic, but we addressed it and you should see a much different game [Friday].�

Now some good news on the health front

Despite an upper-body injury to defenseman Mark Fistric in the first period that likely leaves him out for Friday -- expect Josh Manson to play -- the Ducks had some good health news Thursday.

Boudreau said forward Patrick Maroon, who had three assists in three games, is healing faster than expected from an Oct. 13 left knee sprain and could play by Sunday.

Also, defenseman Bryan Allen, out all season with a lower-body injury, will begin at least a three-game conditioning assignment in minor-league Norfolk on Friday.