[0] LAME DUCKS; WITH KARIYA SIDELINED, ANAHEIM IS SWEPT BY DETROIT : DETROIT 3, DUCKS 0.

Byline: Greg Christensen

If the Mighty Ducks were going to be swept, their coach wanted them to go out fighting.

The Ducks made Craig Hartsburg proud as they fought the two-time Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings to the bitter end in a 3-0 loss before 17,174 at the Pond on Tuesday night.

The victory completed a four game sweep of the Ducks, who were missing one of their stars completely - Paul Kariya was out with a broken foot after blocking a shot in Game 3 - while one (Teemu Selanne) was simply missing in action.

After nearly 37 minutes of non-stop hitting and skating by both teams the Red Wings scored on their first power play chance of the game.

With Marty McInnis in the penalty box for slashing, Jason Marshall's attempt to clear the zone took a bad bounce off the side boards at the Anaheim blue line. Matt Cullen couldn't control the puck and Tomas Holmstrom bullied his way to the slot and chipped a shot past Guy Hebert on the glove side at 16:44.

The noisy crowd got noisier when it appeared the Ducks had tied the game 33 seconds into the third period.

Marshall's shot from the right point bounced high in the air after hitting Detroit goalie Chris Osgood. Moments later the puck was in the net and the Ducks were celebrating, but it was ruled that Marty McInnis had tipped the puck in with a stick that was above the level of the crossbar.

That was the Ducks' last glimmer of hope. With Anaheim pressing to tie the game, Brendan Shanahan scored a breakaway goal with 8:09 left in the game. Slightly more than three minutes later Vyacheslav Koslov put the game on ice.

With the loss of Kariya and defensemen Ruslan Salei (injured right shoulder), Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg was forced to shuffle his lineup. Defenseman Dan Trebil and wingers Johann Davidsson and Mike Leclerc got their first action of the series and Tomas Sandstrom replaced Kariya on the No. 1 line.

Youngsters Leclerc, Davidsson, Antti Aalto and Jeff Nielsen along with veteran Ted Drury helped set the tone in the opening minutes with a tenacious forecheck that kept the Red Wings hemmed in their zone for most of the opening five minutes of the game.

The Ducks outshot the Red Wings 16-14 in the opening period but failed to convert on their two power play chances. Osgood stopped Marshall's bid five minutes into the game and barely got a glove on Kevin Haller's blast from the top of the slot midway through the period.

The Ducks also had a four-shot flurry late in the period, but once again Osgood turned them back.

At the other end, Hebert was sharp as well, getting his left pad on a shot by Vyacheslav Kozlov with eight minutes remaining.

The Ducks had some chances early in the second period. Sandstrom was pulled down by Chris Chelios, but once again Anaheim couldn't convert on the power play. McInnis made a great move to get wide open in the right circle while the Ducks had the man advantage, only to miss the net with his slap shot.

Before Holmstrom finally broke through, the Red Wings' Kris Draper hit the post and Kirk Maltby was denied by Hebert's quick glove hand directly in front of the net after he intercepted a pass by Haller.

Experience counts: The four players Detroit picked up at the trading deadline - Chris Chelios, Ulf Samuelsson, Wendel Clark and Bill Ranford - entered the postseason having played in 414 playoff games. The entire roster of Mighty Ducks had appeared in just 399.

Fractured: X-rays showed that Kariya suffered a ``W shaped fracture of the foot. No surgery is planned, but Kariya said he expects the healing process will take at least 4-6 weeks.

Kariya, who played in all 82 regular season games this season after recovering from a bout of post-concussion syndrome, was upset at the turn of events but not despondent.

``I don't feel sorry for myself. . .'' he said. ``Everything happens for a reason, I just don't know what that reason is now.''

Staright answers: Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios, who has had numerous battles with Kariya over the past few years, had a unique answer when asked if he was sorry to see Kariya hurt.

ANAHEIM DUCKS vs. DETROIT RED WINGS PLAYOFF RESULTS

Detroit wins best-of-7 series, 4-0

Game 1: Detroit 5, Ducks 3

Game 2: Detroit 5, Ducks 1

Game 3: Detroit 4, Ducks 2

Game 4: Detroit 3, Ducks 0

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) Detroit's Martin Lapointe (20) checks Anaheim's Steve Rucchin at the Red Wings' bench.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press

BOX: Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings Playoff Results (see text)