D-LESS DUCKS ARE DRUBBED VANCOUVER 7, DUCKS 2.

Byline: Frank Welch Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - With their next four games against Colorado, Detroit, Colorado again and Phoenix, the Mighty Ducks could hardly afford anything but a solid effort against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

But what the sparse crowd at The Pond - announced at 11,588 - saw from a suddenly reeling Anaheim team was, to cut to the chase, a dreadful defensive effort that resulted in a 7-2 loss.

heim now heads into the teeth of its schedule riding an untimely five- game winless streak (0-3-2). Colorado, Detroit and Phoenix have a combined 19-9-7-1 record. The Ducks now are 6-6-3-2 with 17 points.

The loss to the Canucks (8-3-3-1) certainly left a mark with the team as well as fans.

``We have to be strong enough to withstand a down phase,'' Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg said. ``We can't hide the fact we're struggling right now.''

There was no hiding anything from the Ducks' small, loyal following. Veteran goalie Guy Hebert, one of the Ducks' most popular players, was booed when he was pulled in favor of Dominic Roussel in the middle of the Canucks' four-goal assault in the second period. Hebert was yanked after giving up four goals on 17 shots.

Vancouver's Andrew Cassels recorded his first career hat trick in his 757th NHL game. And Cassels made it a memorable trick too, doing it the natural way with all three goals coming within 16 minutes of each other during the second period.

On two occasions, the Ducks looked as though they might work their way back into the game. However, in each case, the goaltending or the defense let them down.

Trailing 1-0 in the first period, Anaheim killed off a five-minute boarding major penalty to German Titov and tied the game with a short-handed goal by Paul Kariya.

Vitaly Vishnevski kept a loose puck along the boards inside the blue line thanks to his ability to chase down the puck. He fired at the net and Paul Kariya tipped it in for a 1-1 tie nine minutes into the game.

Anaheim watched the momentum of the penalty kill and its short-handed goal disappear one minute later when Adrian Aucoin sent a 45-foot slap shot past Hebert for a 2-1 Vancouver lead.

``At the time, it (the Aucoin goal) took the wind out of our sails,'' Hartsburg said. ``But it should not have to the point of the resulting final score.''

The Ducks' fourth line helped try to get the Ducks back into the game a second time, this time while trailing 4-1 midway through the second period. Right wing Ladislav Kohn scored to make it 4-2 with 8:45 left.

Shortly after Kohn's goal, penalties to Vancouver's Matt Cooke and Bryan Helmer 47 seconds apart set the Ducks on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:13.

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Photo: Vancouver's Steve Kariya (18) moves past the Ducks' Vitaly Vishnevski (6) and Niclas Havelid (28) in the first period Wednesday night.

John Hayes/Associated Press