Ducks Only Blame Themselves for Loss

EDMONTON, Canada —  The kind bounces, good fortune and favorable results ended with a thud for the Mighty Ducks on Monday.

It was their own fault.

“We lost too many battles in our own end,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said after the Ducks’ 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers before an announced crowd of 12,002 at SkyReach Centre.

“Just defensive lapses,” Paul Kariya said, trying to explain why it all went wrong for the Ducks. “I think we’re a little loose in our defensive zone coverage right now. We’re giving up wide-open shots. We’re going to have to address that.”

No question, the Ducks gave Edmonton defenseman Tom Poti all the room he needed to skate toward Guy Hebert’s net, slide a centering pass off Duck defenseman Patrick Traverse’s stick and into the net to break a 3-all tie 5:06 into the third period. Bill Guerin gave Edmonton breathing room with his second goal of the game 1:08 later for a 5-3 Oiler lead.

“Kinda unlucky,” Traverse said of Poti’s goal. “It happened so fast. I didn’t have time to think. I knew there was a guy behind me, too. I knew [Poti] was trying to pass. I was trying to get the best possible angle on him. Maybe I should have just taken the other guy.”

Hartsburg would have preferred that Traverse play the man rather than the puck in that situation. In fact, he took the Ducks to task for trying to block too many shots.

“It was terrible,” Hartsburg said. “They were all trying to lie on the ground and block shots instead of playing their man. They weren’t being assertive. This wasn’t the first time we’ve had goals going in off defensemen. We have to play people and play people harder and we’ll cut down on those kinds of goals.”

And to think, the Ducks came within inches of putting the Oilers away in the second period.

Racing toward an open net, Kariya missed a chance to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead 9:23 into the second period. Kariya had goalie Tommy Salo out of position, but the puck never made it over the goal line. Salo made a remarkable diving stick save to rob Kariya and keep the Oilers within striking distance.

“I thought I had an empty net,” Kariya said. “That would have been a big goal.”

Instead, the Ducks’ lead lasted only another 3 1/2 minutes.

Edmonton center Chad Kilger redirected defenseman Eric Brewer’s shot from the left point at 13:01 for a 3-3 tie. It was the second goal this season for Kilger, a former Duck.

Oleg Tverdovsky sent the Ducks into the early 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season, a wicked perimeter slap shot for a power-play goal 6:49 into the game. It was his 200th point in his 423rd game.

The Ducks’ lead wouldn’t last. Janne Niinimaa and Guerin gave the Oilers the lead with goals less than three minutes apart. Selanne countered with his fifth power-play goal for a 2-all tie 2:59 before the end of the first period.

Matt Cullen gave the Ducks a 3-2 lead, converting on a quick shot from the slot off a centering pass from Kariya at 7:01 of the second period. Kariya’s assist extended his point streak to nine consecutive games.

Although each team played its third game in four nights, the game featured slick skating, sharp passing and heavy hitting in the first two periods. But it came in fits and starts as each team struggled to gain the momentum and keep it.

Edmonton had all sorts of statistical edges going into the final period, including a 27-14 advantage in shots on goal. But the best the Oilers could manage was a 3-3 tie going into the third.

“Going into the third period on the road tied, 3-3, we’ll take that,” Kariya said. “We had a lot of quality scoring chances. We hit a couple of posts. I missed the empty net. That’s the way it goes. Three goals should be enough to win.

“[But] we’re not aggressive enough. We don’t win our one-on-one battles. It’s not something new. It starts with our forecheck, goes through the neutral zone and into our end.”