[0] DUCKS' MUCK GETS DEEPER NASHVILLE 3, DUCKS 0.

Byline: Frank Welch  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Here is a quick rundown of the Mighty Ducks' season to date - with one game left before the All-Star break:

--Anaheim long ago fell out of playoff contention in the NHL's Western Conference.

--The injury-plagued Ducks have been consistent all season - with their lack of offense and their knack for defensive gaffes.

--The team has free-falled into last place in the 15-team conference - and, yes, that includes staring up at first-year expansion teams from Minnesota and Columbus.

Is there something missing, something overlooked and not considered a possibility as recently as two weeks ago?

Perhaps . . . last place in the entire NHL?

The Ducks have a ways to fall. But following their 3-0 loss Wednesday to the third-year Nashville Predators, the team has proved finishing dead last among the 30 teams in the NHL is a legitimate possibility.

Anaheim (15-29-6, 40 points) remains ahead of Florida (39), Tampa Bay (36) and the New York Islanders (33) in the race for the first pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft this summer.

Anaheim's sixth consecutive home loss was, luckily enough for the players and a reeling organization, witnessed by an announced eight-year, franchise-low crowd of 10,961 fans at the Pond.

Before this season, Anaheim never played in front of a home crowd smaller than 12,000. Wednesday's was the ninth of 26 possible home dates in which fewer than 12,000 tickets were sold.

The only question left for the sparse and restless crowd was whether the Ducks would avoid a second consecutive home shutout. And when they didn't, the few that remained booed the Ducks off the ice. Empty buildings make for louder echoes.

Nashville goalie Mike Dunham turned away 26 shots and the Ducks now have gone 173:05 without a goal at home. Marty McInnis' game-tying goal against Colorado with 13:55 left in the first period on Jan. 21 was the last time the Ducks scored at the Pond.

Nashville (22-24-7, 53 points) had a goal in each period from Vitali Yachmenev, Marian Cisar, and Denis Arkhipov, respectively. The Predators moved to 14-11-1 on the road.