Injury Adds to Loss for Ducks

The Mighty Ducks could live with a 3-2 loss Sunday to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings at the Arrowhead Pond. Their effort was sound, their execution good from start to finish.

And, after all, it took a stroke of luck for Detroit’s Brendan Shanahan to deflect the game-winning goal into the net while seated in the crease with 5:49 remaining.

Tougher to stomach was the broken left wrist rejuvenated Duck right wing Tomas Sandstrom suffered when he was slammed into the glass by Detroit’s Kirk Maltby in the second period.

Sandstrom is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks. He wore a splint at game’s end, but expects to be fitted for a cast later this week.

“Tomorrow’s a new day,” said Coach Craig Hartsburg, trying to put on the best (only?) spin possible. “Somebody else has to step up until he gets back.”

Paul Kariya cut to the chase a bit better.

“It’s a big blow, especially to our power play,” the left wing said. “He’s been great there.”

Said left wing Jim McKenzie: “He will be missed. He’s been a real presence for us, a real leader.”

Sandstrom, who had a career-low nine goals in a dismal 77-game performance last season, was in the midst of another strong game Sunday.

He had scored his fifth goal in 12 games--and third on the power play--lifting a shot from near the right goal post over Red Wing goaltender Chris Osgood to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead 11:55 into the game.

But Maltby sent Sandstrom to the dressing room midway through the second period after cracking him against the boards with a clean, hard check.

“It’s part of the game,” Sandstrom said. “It’s a bad accident. He hit me right into the boards. It was just the way I went into the boards [that caused the injury].

“Hopefully, it’s just going to be four weeks.”

Sandstrom then made a joke at his own expense.

“A young guy like me probably heals quick,” said Sandstrom, 34, managing a faint smile.

The good news for Sandstrom is that it’s his left wrist that’s broken, not the right one he broke twice during the 1992-93 season as a member of the Kings.

Doug Gilmour broke it first with a vicious two-handed slash. Sandstrom suffered a second break later in the season, but returned to the lineup in time to help the Kings defeat Gilmour’s Toronto Maple Leafs in the semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“They told me to take it easy for two weeks to make sure everything heals right,” Sandstrom said of his latest injury.

Asked if he felt doubly cursed because he was injured just as he was playing so well for the Ducks, Sandstrom said, “I was doing OK. I was feeling pretty good skating.”

Just OK?

“We can all play better,” he said, shrugging. “On the power play, when the other guys [Kariya and right wing Teemu Selanne] are out there, the other team is looking to cover them. There’s a lot of room for me.

“For sure, it’s frustrating. I can’t get down, though. I’ve got to fight through it and come back in great shape. It’s a long season.”

Sandstrom’s goal gave the Ducks a well-deserved 1-0 lead after a first period in which they swarmed Osgood and outshot the Red Wings, 22-12.

Steve Yzerman, on a power-play goal at 3:03 of the second period, rallied the Red Wings. Shanahan gave them the lead 9:43 into the pivotal third period, scoring in a more conventional manner than on his game winner.

Stationed in front of Duck goalie Guy Hebert, Shanahan accepted a pass from behind the net from Igor Larionov and popped the puck into the net. Marty McInnis’ first goal as a Duck then tied the score, 2-2, at 12:42.

But a fallen Shanahan redirected Larionov’s shot from the left point at 14:11, ending the Red Wings’ four-game losing streak and giving them a 13-3-5 all-time record against the Ducks.

The goal was reviewed by video goal judge Tom Wardell and allowed to stand because it was ruled that Duck defenseman Kevin Haller had pushed Shanahan into the crease.

“I didn’t see it go in, but I looked at Guy and he looked stunned,” Kariya said.

* KINGS ON THE ROAD

L.A. plays at Vancouver tonight with the hope that Jozef Stumpel could be back by Tuesday’s game. Page 9