Kariya Returns in Lost Cause

In the end, captain Paul Kariya’s return to the lineup didn’t help the Ducks a bit Tuesday.

The out-of-sync Ducks were defeated by the Coyotes, 4-0, in front of a delighted crowd of 15,780 at America West Arena in Phoenix.

Kariya joined center Matt Cullen and right wing Teemu Selanne on the Ducks’ top line, but neither they nor their teammates could generate much offense against the Coyotes.

Kariya, sidelined by a sore left hip during training camp and for the opener Saturday against Dallas, seemed to be moving at top speed Tuesday.

But the Ducks remained winless and scoreless in their first two games of the new season. They lost, 2-0, to Dallas. The Ducks began last season with a 0-3 record and were outscored, 6-1.

They were at full strength to start last season, however.

Tuesday, the Ducks played their first game without suspended players Ruslan Salei, Pascal Trepanier and Jim McKenzie.

Salei will sit out 10 games for his hit on Dallas’ Mike Modano in the season opener Saturday. Trepanier got five games and McKenzie four for their rough play against the Stars.

The Ducks are down to 20 eligible players, the precise number who dress for games. They can recall a player from the minors only in the case of an injury to one of the 20.

“I guess we have to look at it as if they were injured,” Pierre Gauthier, team president and general manager, said of the three suspended players. “We’re just starting the season and nothing should get in our way. . . . Our job is to overcome every obstacle.”

The hard-nosed play of Salei, Trepanier and McKenzie was missed against the Coyotes. The first three Phoenix goals were scored from point-blank range with little resistance from the Ducks.

The Ducks trailed, 2-0, and were outshot, 11-4, after one period. Second-period goals by Phoenix grinder Shane Doan sent Duck goaltender Guy Hebert to the bench as Coach Craig Hartsburg tried to save him from further abuse.

Backup goalie Dominic Roussel replaced Hebert 7:52 into the second period.

Mikhail Shtalenkov, a former backup to Hebert, was superb on the few scoring chances the Ducks produced. Shtalenkov recorded his seventh NHL shutout and improved his record against his former team to 4-1.

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Salei on his third suspension in three seasons:

“I have to accept this. There’s nothing I can do about it. I never tried to hurt Modano. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Modano. It was just a bad accident, bad circumstances.”

Salei was suspended for two games for a head butt against former Chicago Blackhawk Sergei Krivokrasov in 1998. He served a five-game suspension to start last season for slew-footing Phoenix’s Daniel Briere in an exhibition game.

“[The latest suspension] is because of the result,” Salei said. “It’s the first game, a new season has started and the league is trying to make a point.”

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Defenseman Kevin Haller, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last month, played his first game of the season. . . . Enforcer Stu Grimson was in the lineup after being sidelined for the opener because of a strained neck. Grimson bested Coyote tough guy Kevin Sawyer in a third-period fight.