Ducks Look Tame in Defeat

This, Mighty Duck Coach Mike Babcock said, was from the Food For Thought category.

On the ice, the Mighty Ducks were being worn down by the Minnesota Wild, which was on its way to a 4-1 victory in front of 18,568 at the Xcel Center on Tuesday. Those who didn’t Xcel, in Babcock’s opinion, got a good view of it from the bench in the third period. Mike Leclerc and Matt Cullen were in for some quality snack time.

“We all in life need reminders,” Babcock said. “It’s amazing when you eat popcorn while the game is on, how that’s a reminder.”

Leclerc and Cullen never set foot on the ice in the third period. This was Babcock’s response during the Ducks’ fourth consecutive loss. Time had come, he decided, to hand out a couple of scarlet letters.

Leclerc and Cullen got a taste of that. They had been on the ice for the first two Wild goals, Jeremy Stevenson’s redirection in the first period, and Nick Schultz’s bull charge to the net for a one-timer in the second period.

By the time the second period was over, the Wild led, 3-1, and the game was pretty much over.

So Cullen and Leclerc were banished.

“Tonight I thought we had some things going, but we had a few guys not show up tonight and they cost us some goals,” Babcock said.

Given that the Ducks’ tumble form a playoff spot has picked up speed, Babcock was at a loss when asked to explain how a no-show could happen.

“Great question,” he said. “I don’t have an answer. But that’s your obligation every single night. It’s up to the coach to respond, if you don’t.”

The Wild responded to its four-game winless streak with a night of firsts. Stevenson, a former Duck, Schultz and Matt Johnson all scored their first goals of the season, which gave the Wild that 3-1 lead.

Antti Laaksonen added the coup de grace, backhanding a shot off the stick of Duck defenseman Keith Carney for a goal eight minutes into the third period. The Ducks could only trudge off the ice afterward and were left to ponder what happened.

“I think everyone is a little frustrated right now,” Leclerc said. “We need everyone to show up every night. I didn’t play a very good game tonight.”

Cullen was less chatty.

“Mike and I didn’t play well, we were minus-two after two periods,” he said. “There’s nothing I want to say right now.”

The Ducks have been outscored, 19-7, in losing four consecutive games. They have tumbled from seventh in the Western Conference to 10th, two points ahead of San Jose.

The Wild, on the other hand, seems to have weathered the storm.

In the first period, Stevenson, who was playing his second game since being recalled from the minors, planted himself in the crease. He re-directed a Cliff Ronning pass past Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere for a 1-0 lead.

Ronning, traded by the Kings last June, then set up Schultz with a pass from behind the net for a 2-0 lead 15:38 into the second period. Ronning has 20 assists and 28 points.

Less than a minute later, Johnson made it 3-0 by putting back a rebound.

“We have given up a lot goals this road trip and everyone has to account for that,” Paul Kariya said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do now. I think it’s fixable. We haven’t had 20 guys playing the game. It’s not like we’re getting beat, we’re beating ourselves. Anytime you give up that many goals in four games, a lot of guys aren’t showing up.”