Hartsburg Has Eye on Playoffs

It wasn’t so much a concession speech as it was a reality check.

“We think we can end up in the fifth spot, but fourth is going to be tough,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said Saturday before the Ducks departed for Phoenix to play the Coyotes tonight.

The Ducks face a double-digit deficit against the Coyotes, who have all but locked up fourth place in the Western Conference. Division leaders Dallas, Colorado and Detroit would earn the top three spots if the playoffs began today.

“That’s enough of a challenge for us--to be fifth and to be over .500,” Hartsburg said. “That should be everybody’s goal here. That’s enough of a challenge for us. You always want to be the best you can be, but fifth is probably the most-reasonable place we should shoot for now.”

Besides, the Ducks have plenty of company in the battle for fifth place. St. Louis, San Jose, Edmonton and Calgary are clustered with the Ducks in the fight for the final four playoff berths.

“We haven’t focused too much on ‘them’ as much as we have on ourselves,” Hartsburg said.

For example, the Ducks spent much of Saturday’s practice working on getting the puck out of their zone more efficiently.

“We’re not so much trying to create offense out of it, but beating their pressure,” Hartsburg said. “We need to do it crisper and quicker than we did against Dallas [on Friday].”

at Phoenix

5 PST, ESPN

* Site--America West Arena.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 21-23-9, Coyotes 29-13-10.

* Record vs. Coyotes--1-0-2.

* Update--The Ducks’ stretch of difficult opponents continues tonight. They defeated Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia, 5-4, Wednesday, but lost, 3-2, Friday to Western Conference-leading Dallas. The Ducks have outscored Phoenix, 5-1, in the third periods of the first three games, which helps explain their unbeaten record against the Coyotes. The Ducks also lead the all-time series, 13-8-2. One of the key matchups involves the Ducks’ power-play unit, third-best in the NHL, against the Coyotes’ penalty killers, tops in the league. Guy Hebert is expected to start in goal tonight. Dominic Roussel might start Monday against the Kings.