Jonas Hiller

He stopped Alex Burrows on a breakaway, and minutes later, denied the Canucks' two-on-one threat. Unfortunately, for the Ducks, that sterling display by their goaltender, Dan Ellis, came when Anaheim was on the power play in the second period. No one ever said cleanup jobs were pretty. That could be a metaphor for this lost, sinking season in Anaheim. Vancouver defeated the Ducks, 5-2, delighting its large traveling contingent of passionate fans at Honda Center on Thursday night.

The toughest, bluntest postgame words did not come from the captain (Ryan Getzlaf) or the revered veteran (Teemu Selanne). Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller … unplugged. Hiller unloaded — or should that be unburdened? — after the Ducks squandered a two-goal lead, drifted through an aimless second period and showed up for the third. It added up to a 5-3 win by the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night at Honda Center. Scoring for the Ducks were Getzlaf, Saku Koivu and defenseman Cam Fowler.

Ducks tonight VS. TORONTO When: 6. Where: Honda Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830. Records: Ducks 6-12-4, Maple Leafs 13-8-2. Update: Things keep getting worse for the Ducks, who are winless in six (0-5-1) and have one win in their last 13. Goaltender Dan Ellis sat out Saturday's practice because of a groin strain and is questionable Sunday, so the Ducks might have to summon someone to back up Jonas Hiller. Center Andrew Cogliano sat out Saturday's practice because of what a team spokesman described as bumps and bruises but is probable.

Reporting from Chicago — The Ducks' seven-game, 13-day trip began with talk and ended with action. In between came some stellar play, most notably from goaltender Jonas Hiller and Teemu Selanne; some familiar power-play issues and one hard-earned point when Blackhawks center Patrick Kane beat Hiller to finish a 3-2 shootout thriller in front of 21,247 at the United Center. "We played much better in this game than we did the previous two," Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said after his 500th career game behind the bench.

The painstaking progress made by the Ducks in training camp and the first three weeks of the season seemed to vanish in about an Anaheim minute. OK, to be generous, make that about three Anaheim minutes. They played a train wreck of three-plus minutes against Phoenix on Sunday, giving up three goals in that second-period span and couldn't quite catch up in the third period as the Coyotes hung on, 5-4, at Honda Center. Ryan Getzlaf scored twice, his first two of the season, and the other Ducks goals came from defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky and Kurtis Foster, who was making his debut with Anaheim.

When: 7:30. Where: HP Pavilion. On the air: Prime Ticket, AM 830. Records: Ducks 3-1-0, Sharks 1-2-0. Record vs. Sharks: 1-0. Update: This will complete the Ducks' first back-to-back sequence of the season. It also will be a rematch of Friday's game in Anaheim, which the Ducks won, 1-0, on a 31-save performance by Jonas Hiller. The Sharks have lost their last two games after starting the season with a 6-3 victory over Phoenix on Oct. 8. Goaltender Antti Niemi is expected to make his season debut and start for the Sharks.

They applauded long and hard during the glitzy pregame introductions for reigning league most valuable player Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and, of course, the age-defying Teemu Selanne. One of them would surely score, right? Or failing that, serve as a skillful playmaker during the Ducks' opener at Honda Center. None of that happened, and it didn't matter. Not with Jonas Hiller tending goal for the Ducks on Friday night. Hiller recorded his 12th career shutout, facing 31 shots in the Ducks' 1-0 win against the San Jose Sharks.

Luring Teemu Selanne back lifts the Ducks into the ranks of playoff contenders in the West, thanks to an exceptional No. 1 line and solid goaltending, provided Jonas Hiller stays healthy. On paper, the Ducks lack a strong physical presence on defense, and the continued development of Cam Fowler (40 points as an NHL rookie, but a mediocre minus-25 rating) is critical to a strong finish. Projected lines First line 10, Corey Perry, left wing 15, Ryan Getzlaf, center 9, Bobby Ryan, right wing Getzlaf's playmaking skills combined with Perry's and Ryan's finishing abilities means they have a chance to be the most productive line in the league.

He could have handled an injured knee, a sore groin or even a broken bone. Instead, for the Ducks' Jonas Hiller, this felt as if he was fighting off a clever, unknown opponent, floundering helplessly in the dark. Not only did he not know how he got to this place, but there also was no reasonable plan to get out of the quandary. Unfortunately, there was no fixed timetable to recover from vertigo, a difficult realization for a goal-oriented athlete, the man assigned to stop goals from being scored.

Eventually there will come a time when Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller puts on his mask and plays against a team not named the Vancouver Canucks. Someday. For now, Hiller will have to be content to deal with all things Vancouver, facing the Canucks twice in five days. Then again, the Canucks were almost like different teams in those two games. Team B — or B-minus — on Saturday. What more closely resembled Team A was on exhibit in Anaheim on Wednesday night, testing the resolve and glove of Hiller.