Hebert Takes a Pounding : Defense: Red Wings fire 43 shots at goaltender, who allows seven to get through.
ANAHEIM — The parade at Disneyland on Thursday was a kick. The Anaheim Arena gleamed, filled to the rafters on opening night Friday. The sellout crowd of 17,174 roared when the Mighty Ducks were introduced. All was well in Disney’s ordered world.
But they had to drop the puck sometime. When they did, the Detroit Red Wings pounced on it and rifled shot after shot at Duck goalie Guy Hebert.
Coach Ron Wilson picked Hebert to start primarily because Hebert had shut out Detroit, 1-0, in a game for the St. Louis Blues last season at Joe Louis Arena. But that night was but a distant memory as Hebert stood in against the Red Wings’ relentless attack Friday.
Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov buzzed the net right from the start. No surprise there. Hebert knew what was coming. And it wasn’t pretty.
The game was every bit as lopsided as the 7-2 final indicated.
It simply isn’t fair to dump all the blame on Hebert, though. Wilson didn’t, pointing an accusing finger at the Ducks’ sieve-like defense. In the end, that was the biggest reason Hebert had to face 43 shots, including 20 in the first period.
Defense was supposed to be what the Ducks did best. Tight-checking, defensive-minded, physical--that was the book on the Ducks during the exhibition season.
Instead, Hebert seemed all alone out there, scrambling repeatedly to stop wide-open Red Wing shooters. Yzerman weaved his magic and left Duck defenders out of position more than once, recording two pretty assists.
Fedorov took advantage of one pass, scoring the Red Wings’ third goal at the 15:11 mark of the first period. Fedorov assisted on goals by Aaron Ward and Ray Sheppard.
“You can’t complain (about) Guy Hebert,†Wilson said. “He was defenseless out there half the time. We were awful in our own end, standing around watching. I could see the first period, but we didn’t settle down.â€
Hebert was more diplomatic, although his postgame comments were right on target.
“We might have sat back on our heels,†he said. “I think we have to get back to what we did in the preseason. This will benefit us down the line. (But) we have to think about our defense first.â€
Facing Detroit wasn’t the easiest way for the Ducks to test NHL waters, but Hebert was handed the job Thursday morning and had to make the best of it.
“I think starting off with the Detroit Red Wings is tough, but you can’t make it easy on them,†Hebert said. “It was one of those games where things don’t click.â€
At least not for the Ducks.
Detroit kept the shots-on-goal counter on the scoreboard clicking at a steady pace.
The Red Wings had 20 shots and three goals by the end of the first period. They had 12 in the second and 11 in the third.
It was grim. And the bad news for Hebert and fellow goalie Ron Tugnutt, who starts against the New York Islanders Sunday, is that it’s not going to get any easier.
When the dust settled, when Hebert could at last rest in the safety of the Ducks’ locker room, someone asked if he had any advice for Tugnutt.
“Well, keep it under seven,†Hebert said.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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