Ducks Play Just Like Old Times in Loss to Blues

ST. LOUIS — There hasn’t been such a scent of smoked duck since the first game in franchise history.

The Mighty Ducks--the new, improved version?--looked nearly as bad in the 90th game of their existence Tuesday night as they did in their first, losing to St. Louis, 7-2. That was the same score in their inaugural loss to Detroit on Oct. 8, 1993.

Not since that very first night had they given up seven goals in a game. This time they gave up seven in the first 40 minutes and yielded five in the second period alone--two within 22 seconds of each other.

Goalie Guy Hebert said the Ducks were like “a sinking ship going down” and left wing Stu Grimson called the Blues “a faceless mob that kept coming at us.”

The game was an atrocious defensive performance by a team that built its reputation and its success last season on disciplined defense. The Ducks made one giveaway after another, hardly got the puck out of their own end in the first period and didn’t manage a shot until 7 1/2 minutes into the game.

“A lot of our young players got overwhelmed, and our veterans got caught making the same mistakes the rookies did,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “We didn’t get much leadership and most of our players didn’t compete. We’re not playing the way we have in the past.

“When I think about it I’m more disappointed in the play of some of our veteran defensemen. They were God-awful tonight. We’ve got guys looking like they hope Oleg Tverdovsky will skate it out for them. He’s an 18-year-old. “

Veteran Tom Kurvers, who has made it in the NHL on his offensive ability rather than his defensive skills, was on the ice for three of the Blues’ seven goals. “We didn’t have a good game,” Kurvers said. “It went in hurry. We didn’t have a lot of composure.”

Hebert faced 34 shots--twice stopping Esa Tikkanen on breakaways--before Wilson gave him the third period off in an act of mercy. Tikkanen played a stellar game and finished with two goals and an assist. Brett Hull scored his fifth goal of the season and Craig Janney returned to the lineup after being banished for two games by new Coach Mike Keenan and contributed two assists.

“It certainly wasn’t all Guy’s fault,” Wilson said. “He held us in there for a while.”

Hebert--a former backup for the Blues who had hoped to make a triumphant first visit to the new Kiel Center, which wasn’t quite full with a crowd of 17,281 on hand--said the game “was kind of like being in a shark tank. It got to the point where if I didn’t make a clean stop and cover up, two or three guys would be right there whacking away at the rebound.”

Adding indignity to the loss was the fact that the Ducks didn’t even face all-star goalie Curtis Joseph, who is out because of a groin pull. They were held to two goals by rookie Geoff Sarjeant, who got his first NHL victory.

The Ducks’ own rookies finally faltered, with Valeri Karpov making the poor pass that Adam Creighton picked off to score the Blues’ first goal, and finishing the game with a plus-minus of minus-four. Paul Kariya was minus-three, even though he assisted on Joe Sacco’s goal in the second period. Rookie John Lilley scored the Ducks’ other goal, preventing the margin of defeat from tying the franchise record when he scored at 17:47 of the third.

Ducks Notes

Right wing Todd Ewen played after missing four games because of a hip pointer. He took David Sacco’s spot in the lineup.