ROAD TO NOWHERE
Over the last two weeks, the Ducks turned a road full of
possibilities into a wrong turn down a dark alley. Coming off a
stretch in which they had won five of seven -- six without the aid
of ailing superstar Teemu Selanne -- the Ducks seemed poised to
turn a relatively soft roadie into a points boon. But it was not to
be.
Despite the return of Selanne, a schedule giving them nights off
between games, and tilts against several struggling teams, the
Ducks looked sluggish and disorganized throughout much of their
jaunt across America, and came home with a mere three points.
Selanne's comeback turned out to be premature. Who knows whether he
was feeling left out of the excitement as his teammates ran up a
record good enough to exceed the .500 mark, but the flashy Finn
felt compelled to return to action against Detroit as the road trip
got underway. And despite a four-assist performance against
Pittsburgh -- far and away the most entertaining contest of the
six-game trip -- Selanne was clearly not feeling his oats. Those
who thought he might have been overstating the case when he
described himself as playing "at about 75 percent," had to be
convinced when Selanne was caught from behind on a breakaway by
36-year-old Chris Chelios. And while a game against the hated Ducks
usually gets a little extra juice flowing in Chelly (who turns 37
in January), it shouldn't be enough to come close to a healthy
Selanne.
TEEMU'S Rx: MORE REST
So now, as of the December 6 game in San Jose -- the lone road win
-- Selanne is back on the shelf, and will this time presumably take
as much time as necessary to recuperate fully -- which is what he
said he would do last time. Adding insult to Selanne's injury is
either a slump or an injury to Selanne's battery-mate, Paul Kariya.
The diminutive sniper went three games without so much as a point
during the trip -- the first time that had happened since his
rookie year. And it was in Chicago that Kariya's frustration showed
through, as the perennial Lady Byng candidate took three penalties
in the first two periods. Chelly must have had sweet dreams that
night.
Rumors in the local press attribute Kariya's slump to a thigh injury
of his own, but if that's the case, P.K. isn't confirming it. And in
his typical warm-and-fuzzy style, coach Craig Hartsburg labeled talk
of injuries as mere excuse-making.
Whatever the reason, the Ducks went on the road tied for third in
the conference (with Detroit) and returned in a three-way tie for
sixth (with Vancouver and St. Louis). And despite a grinding win
against San Jose, courtesy of a late power-play goal by Marty
McInnis, the team clearly doesn't have it going on right now.
CHEMISTRY LESSON
Matt Cullen was sent down for three games in the minors after
struggling (statistically) over the first two months of the season,
then returned with renewed vigor to score his first goal in light
years (actually, since April 15) and center a feisty fourth line.
But a Cincinnati shuttle did nothing for the long-term health of
the team last year, and will likely have the same negative result
this year.
The team seems to have its fair share of stars, mid-level guys and
role players, but lack something in terms of chemistry. Perhaps
that will come in time; after all there are a lot of new faces on
the "regular" squad. Cullen, Josef Marha, Antti Aalto, Johan
Davidsson, Mike Crowley, Jeff Nielsen and the team's enforcers, Stu
Grimson and Jim McKenzie, are all either new to the team or barely
got their feet wet last year. Mix in struggling Travis Green and
newly-acquired Marty McInnis -- who has more than pulled his load
-- and the Ducks are a lot of tasty ingredients looking for a good
recipe.
All of which points toward asking who's running the kitchen. And
while it's probably too early to push any panic buttons, the
process of identifying what's going wrong should be under way in
Anaheim's executive suite.
HOME COOKING
Up next is a six-game home stand featuring cross-town rival Los
Angeles and ending with a home-and-home against ever-improving
Colorado. But first comes a must-win against Vancouver, who --
though playing horribly without holdout Pavel Bure and injured Alex
Mogilny and Todd Bertuzzi -- remain in a standings battle with the
Ducks. After that, Ron Wilson returns with his struggling
Washington Capitals for a game with less political overtones since
the removal of former team president and Wilson nemesis Tony
Tavares.
