Red Wings Catch Team With a Flat

ANAHEIM — The Mighty Ducks had the Detroit Red Wings pinned to the mat after 25 minutes of play in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series Tuesday night at the Pond.

The Ducks had scored first, built their second two-goal lead and a roaring sellout crowd of 17,174 seemed to sense: “Wait a minute, this series isn’t over just yet.”

But somewhere on the way to a victory in Game 3 and a step closer to getting back into the series, the Ducks flinched and Detroit swept past them and into a commanding three games-to-none lead.

Maybe fatigue and injuries to key players in the wake of Sunday’s 5 1/2-hour marathon loss, 3-2, to Detroit overwhelmed the Ducks in the third period Tuesday.

Or perhaps it was the Ducks’ lack of playoff experience as a franchise.

Or more likely it was the fact that the Red Wings have more depth, more skill and are more well-rounded than the Ducks.

Duck winger Warren Rychel added one more element after the Ducks’ 5-3 loss to the Red Wings.

“We didn’t play hard enough tonight--that’s it,” Rychel said. “We didn’t have that hunger, especially when it was 3-1, to finish them off. I think the biggest thing was that we didn’t have the hunger, the edge tonight.”

There were tactical errors, to be sure, and Detroit’s talent also played a role. But Rychel put much of the blame for the Ducks’ loss on the Ducks.

“It’s hard to say right now, but I don’t think we were mentally prepared,” he said. “We didn’t play well. If it weren’t for our goalie [Mikhail Shtalenkov] it would have been 10-3. With a 3-1 lead halfway through the game, with the game in our building we should be in control.”

Forward Ted Drury dismissed the idea that injuries that sidelined goalie Guy Hebert (groin) and defenseman David Karpa (torn chest muscle) played a part in the loss.

“Injuries? That’s an excuse,” said Drury, who played and scored his first career playoff goal despite a neck injury that sidelined him for Game 2. “That’s not a reason, that’s an excuse. We just didn’t have it in our resolve to play through it. We were not ready to play.”

Said defenseman Jason Marshall: “We could tell we were getting outplayed. They took away our centerman. They clogged the middle. They’re so experienced. You make one mistake, they make you pay.”

It didn’t help that the Ducks chucked their playoff method of operation. They gave the Red Wings far too much open space with the puck. They stopped dumping the puck into the corners and chasing it down and instead took long-range shots at goalie Mike Vernon.

“I don’t think we had a steady flow of offense going right from the beginning,” Rychel said.

Two goals with the Ducks on a five-on-three power play in the first period helped them to their first two-goal lead of the series. But Rychel wondered if the Ducks couldn’t have scored more and put the game out of the Red Wings’ reach.

So what now?

“The best thing is to take it one period at a time and play hard,” Rychel said. “We’ve got to get our heads together. We’ve won four games in a row before.”