Ducks are struck by Lightning again

The energy was there for the Ducks. So was the tenacity and engagement they lacked in so many previous games against the Stanley Cup finalist Tampa Bay Lightning.

A victory, or at least a point, was there for the taking, too, when they trailed by one goal in the third period and had three power plays.

But those chances came up empty in a 2-1 loss Wednesday that represented another setback in an uphill search for consistency.

The Ducks were trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 7. They remain stuck with 23 points, and their night was summed up when Cam Fowler hit the post with 14 seconds left.

“Some nights that might go in, but this night wasn’t one of those,” Fowler said. “But we had our opportunities. Our penalty killers kept us in it. I think our power play could have done a better job of creating some momentum for our team. That’s on me as well. That’s something we can work on. [But there were] a lot of good things, and there’s some room for improvement as well.”

The difference might have been Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin. The third pick in the 2013 draft returned from an injury that kept him out the previous six games and got a goal and an assist as the Lightning squeaked it out.

Coach Bruce Boudreau didn’t bother showing his players video of the Nov. 21 matchup because there were so many mistakes in the 5-0 loss. The Lightning had outscored the Ducks, 14-4, over the previous three meetings “and made us look bad doing doing it,” Boudreau said.

The rematch was much tighter but the Ducks took four penalties and their NHL-best penalty-killing unit yielded its third goal in four games.

Drouin set up Jonathan Marchessault for a one-timer and 2-1 lead 3 minutes 38 seconds into the second period, with Clayton Stoner serving a cross-checking penalty. It gave the Lightning three power-play goals in two games against the Ducks this season.

It also was part of a mixed-bag second period in which Tampa Bay had two goals waved off after Corey Perry finally broke through with his first goal in 11 games against Lightning goalie Ben Bishop.

Perry softly dumped the puck into the zone for Rickard Rakell, who went behind the net and made the initial shot that Ryan Getzlaf dug out for Perry to wrist in for his team-leading ninth goal.

Tampa Bay scored first on a goal by Drouin. He took a pass from Vladislav Namestnikov and made a shot through heavy traffic that banked in off the left post.

Moments earlier, the 6-foot-7 Bishop reminded the Ducks of his mastery over them when he stuck out his right skate to thwart Shawn Horcoff’s bid on an open net.

Bishop is 6-0-1 against the Ducks.

Fowler tied Scott Niedermayer for fourth among games played by a defenseman in Ducks history at 371.

“I thought the effort was fine. I thought if you’re looking for territorial edge or any of that, I thought we outplayed them,” Boudreau said.

“But in the end, we’ve got to come up with a win.”

Nate Thompson plays

Nate Thompson made his season debut, the completion of a six-month rehabilitation from surgery in June for two tears in his shoulder.

Thompson was giddy before his first NHL game since Game 7 of the Western Conference finals May 30. It was the longest hiatus of his career.

“The last couple of days, I haven’t been able to stop smiling,” Thompson said. “It’s like Christmas.”

Thompson is a well-liked fourth-line energy player adept at faceoffs and penalty killing. He’s also vocal in the locker room and known for a warrior mentality; he played with the injury during the playoffs.

“He’s a leader of our team,” Boudreau said. “He showed it in the playoffs last year. I thought he came, really, to the forefront.”

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