DUCKS MISSING A WING KUNITZ OUT FOR SEASON WITH BREAK IN HAND.

Byline: ELLIOTT TEAFORD

Staff Writer

The Ducks suffered a significant loss Monday, a little more than 24 hours before facing the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of their Western Conference finals series at the Honda Center.

Left wing Chris Kunitz will undergo surgery today to repair a broken bone in his right hand, the team said. He is not expected to play again this postseason.

Kunitz, who was injured during the Ducks' 2-1 loss to the Red Wings in Game 1, has spent the better part of the last two seasons on the team's top line.

As they did in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 2, Todd Marchant and Dustin Penner will split fill-in duties alongside Andy McDonald and Teemu Selanne.

Kunitz had one goal and five assists in the playoffs, recording his first goal early in the third period of Game 1 on Friday. He also had 25 goals and 35assists during the regular season.

"There's no replacing Koonie," McDonald said. "He's done so well for us, but Todd and Dustin skated on the left side for us (in Game 2 on Sunday). They're two different players and both guys did a great job."

Marchant is a speedy skater who often plays bigger than his 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame, and Penner is a prototypical power forward, who at 6-4 and 245 pounds presents defensive challenges for opponents.

Marchant, who missed the first two rounds of the playoffs after undergoing hernia surgery, is superb on faceoffs and a standout penalty-killer.

"I think he got better (Sunday)," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said of Marchant. "He has the ability to play the game at a high pace. We have excellent support players. You lose a guy like Kunitz, but you have a Marchant to fill that spot."

Penner is strong on the puck and creates havoc in front of the net for opposing goalies and defensemen.

Juggling lines leaves the Ducks vulnerable on their fourth line, particularly since Shawn Thornton suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2 and his participation tonight is uncertain.

Brad May moved from the fourth line to the second to take Penner's spot alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

The news about Kunitz's season-ending injury tempered the Ducks' good feelings about earning a split in the first twogames of the best-of-7 series. Still, it was good to be home, where the Ducks won 26 games behind the Orange Curtain during the regular season and five of six so far in the playoffs.

"We wanted to get at least one game over there and we did that, so now we're really excited," Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "We're a very confident group, but at the same time we don't want to be overconfident."

Of earning a split of the first two games, Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer said, "It doesn't do us any good if we don't play well (tonight)."

Niedermayer's goal 14:17 into overtime gave the Ducks their first victory in Detroit's Joe Louis Arena since they took Game 2 of their opening-round series against the Red Wings in 2003. It was only the fifth victory for the Ducks in Detroit, period.

"We can be better," Niedermayer said, "but it's going to take a huge effort."

Improved special teams play might ease the Ducks' burden considerably for Game 3 tonight. Their power play has gone scoreless in four consecutive games, an 0-for-27 drought.

The Ducks just missed ending their slump with the man-advantage when first Rob Niedermayer (first period) and then McDonald (second) scored Sunday just after power plays expired.

However, the Ducks gave up a shorthanded goal and yielded twice while the Red Wings were on the power play in Game 2.

"I don't think you want to take a gun and shoot our special teams players," Carlyle said. "(But) we've got to be better in some areas. I don't think we want to continue to lose the special-teams battle."

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