head coach: Pierre Page

roster: C: Matt Cullen, Travis Green, Sean Pronger, Steve Rucchin; LW: Shawn Antoski, Ted Drury, Paul Kariya, Tomas Sandstrom, Brent Severyn, Jeremy Stevenson; RW: Jeff Nielsen, Warren Rychel, Teemu Selanne, Scott Young; D: Drew Bannister, Doug Houda, David Karpa, Jason Marshall, Dmitri Mironov, Ruslan Salei, Brent Severyn, Dan Trebil, Pavel Trnka; G: Guy Hebert, Mikhail Shtalenkov.

injuries: Paul Kariya, lw (concussion 02/01, day-to-day); Jeff Nielsen, rw (broken left fibula, expected out 4-6 weeks); Shawn Antoski, lw (depressed skull fracture, indefinite).

transactions: 02/07, Recalled Peter LeBoutillier, rw, from Cincinatti (AHL); 02/06, acquired Travis Green, c, Doug Houda, d, and Tony Tuzzolino, rw, from the NY Islanders in exchange for J.J. Daigneault, d, Mark Janssens, c, and Joe Sacco, rw; assigned Tuzzolino to Cincinatti; 02/05, recalled Pavel Trnka, d, from Cincinnati; assigned Mike Leclerc, lw, to Cincinnati; reassigned J.F. Jomphe, c, from Cincinnati to Quebec Rafales (IHL); 02/02, recalled Bob Wren, c, and Mike Leclerc, lw, from Cincinnati; 01/28, placed Jeff Nielsen, rw, on Injured Reserve; 01/24, assigned Pavel Trnka, d, to Cincinnati.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     58  29  13  16    74  172  138
Los Angeles  55  26  20   9    61  161  146
San Jose     56  21  28   7    49  139  152
Edmonton     57  19  28  10    48  141  164
Anaheim      56  19  28   9    47  137  170
Calgary      57  16  30  11    43  149  179
Vancouver    57  16  33   8    40  153  203

game results:

01/27 at San Jose  L 4-2
01/28 Calgary      L 4-2
02/01 Chicago      W 4-3 OT
02/04 NY Rangers   W 3-2
02/07 Los Angeles  L 5-2

team news:

by Alex Carswell, Anaheim Correspondent

DOES SIZE MATTER?

If so, then the local media is correct in describing Anaheim's recent trade as "big." But let's face facts: Just because six players were involved (three going each way) doesn't make for an impact deal. And when you consider that there really were no front line players involved -- unless you consider Joe Sacco's stint between Kariya and Selanne as a meaningful one -- the trade shapes up more as a slight reshuffling than a new deal. And even then one has to wonder if GM Jack Ferreira played the right cards.

Gone to the NY Islanders are forwards Mark Janssens and Joe Sacco, along with defenseman J.J. Daigneault. Replacing them are center Travis Green and blueliner Doug Houda, with forward prospect Tony Tuzzolino heading straight to Anaheim's AHL affiliate.

In Janssens, the Ducks cast off a key element in their 1997 playoff run: The late-season acquisition who was brought in to shore up the checking line and take key defensive draws. He did both successfully, and while his numbers this season are not impressive -- 4-5-9 and a team-worst minus-22 rating -- they are more a reflection of the team's shortcomings than his own. In fact, his consistent performance on face-offs led Anaheim to the league's sponsored award in that department for the month of December. And perhaps even more important than his specific skills, Janssens was a locker-room leader who wasn't afraid to mix it up in defense of his teammates, even when he was overmatched, which was usually the case.

In Sacco, the Ducks dealt their best-performing B player, the one guy who was actually playing to his potential from among Anaheim's corps of underachieving forwards. Placed at center on the top line when coach Pierre Page couldn't think of anything else to do, Sacco did well -- despite his admission that he hadn't played center since he was a pee wee. And Sacco was a rock on the penalty-kill, one of the few areas where Anaheim was achieving their potential this season. He also (along with Janssens, Selanne and Sandstrom) was one of just four Ducks to play in every game this season. Sacco's departure leaves Guy Hebert as the lone original Mighty Ducks player.

As for Daigneault, his slow start (2-15-17, -8) was no worse than anyone else's. Primarily an offensive- minded defenseman, Daigneault was usually paired with one of Anaheim's rookie blueliners this season, which fundamentally changed his responsibilities.

THE NEWCOMERS

In theory, Green will fill in for both Janssens and Sacco. Described by Ferreira as a "solid two-way" center, the fourth-year player will be expected to score goals on the second line (with Sandstrom and Young) and win big draws. At least that's the plan now. By the middle of the second period of his second game, however, Page might well have him centering Warren Rychel and Jeremy Stevenson. And that's not likely to inspire the player once touted as offensively gifted, but who has been demoted to a third-liner under the Milbury-Bowness regime on Long Island.

Green got off to a mixed start in Anaheim, scoring on a tip-in play from Selanne against the Kings, but (after a long flight and a noon starting time) finishing minus-3 in the 5-2 loss.

The arrival of Houda, who was minus-2 in his Anaheim debut, raises as many questions as it answers. If the Ducks were looking for veteran stability with virtually no offensive punch on the back line, what makes Houda (at the cost of Daigneault) any more attractive than the recently-exiled Bobby Dollas?

Perhaps -- and this is just a theory, mind you -- he's simply less talkative.

KARIYA CONCUSSED, CONFUSED & QUIET

Paul Kariya, touted as one of the big improvements on Canada's Olympic squad over the team that lost at the World Cup, is as likely as not to miss the Nagano games entirely. As the Canadian team was chartering to Japan, Kariya was still trying to clear the fog left by Gary Suter's brutal cross check to the head and face. The hit, which occurred directly in front of ever-more incompetent referee Dan Marouelli, was unpenalized at the time, although Suter was later suspended four games by the NHL.

Perhaps more disappointing than the lack of a call on what has become a tradition in the NHL -- the post- goal-scoring knockdown -- was the hue and cry from Chicago when it was over. Suter questioned whether Kariya was really hurt. Coach Craig Hartsburg -- who has Chris Chelios to thank for every day he's allowed to stand behind the bench -- whined loud and often that the hit was clean, and that Anaheim was a bunch of sissies.

The truth, apparently, is that Hartsburg encourages his players to hit without regard to possible injury, and that they do so knowing their coach will back them up despite the unassailable evidence on videotape. Right now, Anaheim fans can't wait for the next time Bryan Marchment gets Tony Amonte or Alexei Zhamnov in his knee-on-knee sites.

As for Kariya, he has said nothing about Suter's unquestionably violent hit, preferring to let others address the issue. "My job," said Kariya, "is to play." If he can, that is, and right now, that seems unlikely.

As of this report, Kariya was still getting headaches and glossing over while talking to his teammates. After the LA game, Selanne said, "I'll be talking to him and I can see he's just not there."

This fourth concussion of Kariya's career is reason enough for everyone to be concerned about the direction the NHL is heading. Instead of tinkering with rules that have served the game just fine throughout periods both of high-scoring and of scoring drops, the league ought to call the game the way the existing rules dictate. And that would mean ending the tradition of brutally dropping a player who has just had the nerve to score a goal.

SELANNE SIZZLES

The good news for the Ducks is that with Kariya out of the lineup, Selanne has stepped up yet again. As the Olympic break set in, the Finnish Flash had figured in all nine goals (4-5-9) the team has scored in its past three games. Of course, as usual -- since no one else is scoring -- that's also the bad news.

COMING UP

R and R for the Anaheim players left at home during the Olympic break. And that should be Rest and Reflection, not Relaxation, on just what's gone wrong through the first two-thirds of the season.

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