Canucks’ Flurry in the Stretch Scorches Ducks : Hockey: Up 2-1, Vancouver scores three goals in final 7:07 for 5-1 victory in Anaheim’s home opener.

ANAHEIM — The Mighty Ducks’ mascot fell on his face and went down in flames before the home-opener Wednesday night, and then the Ducks followed suit.

Wild Wing, the mascot, was supposed to leap through a wall of fire during the pregame show but instead misstepped on a small trampoline and fell into the flames. The fire went out immediately and the mascot was quickly aided, but shortly later, a Duck spokesman responded with the sort of injury report typically reserved for players: “Bruised knee, ankle and wrist. He will return.”

The Ducks went on to lose to the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1, allowing three goals in the final eight minutes in front of a crowd of 17,174 at The Pond. It was their fourth loss in five games this season.

Only a goal by Paul Kariya at 1:54 of the third period spoiled Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean’s shutout bid. The goal was Kariya’s fifth in five games this season, and it came after almost every Duck on the ice touched the puck to keep the play alive. Kariya finally scored when the puck slipped through the slot to him on the left side of the goal and he knocked it into the upper right-hand corner of the net.

Otherwise, it wasn’t much of an outing for the Ducks, who went 0 for 5 on the power play and drew a few boos from their usually undemanding crowd.

“I’m definitely disappointed in seven or eight guys,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole but we were still close enough to respond. The last two goals, I’m really disappointed in our forwards.”

McLean finished with 36 saves, and he probably earned the victory in one third-period flurry alone, holding off the Ducks as they took six swipes at the puck after Shaun Van Allen and Mike Sillinger swept in on a two-on-one.

The lead then was only 2-1, but McLean got some breathing room a bit later when Alexander Mogilny scored on a picture-perfect play at 12:53 of the final period, putting Roman Oksiuta’s pass through the crease into the net while goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov was hugging the left post.

Mogilny scored again on a breakaway in the final minute, getting his second goal of the game and seventh of the season. Defenseman Jeff Brown scored the Canucks’ other third-period goal on a point shot at 17:39.

Trevor Linden put Vancouver ahead, 1-0, at 14:35 of the first period, stickhandling through the neutral zone and skating around defenseman David Karpa before beating Shtalenkov between the pads. Jassen Cullimore made it 2-0 when he converted a rebound from a slot at 12:33 of the second.

In a mild surprise, Wilson went with backup goalie Shtalenkov Wednesday instead of No. 1 Guy Hebert.

“Why not?” Wilson said. “It’s our home-opener but we’ve already played four games. Our approach to the game shouldn’t be any different.”

Wilson’s move was typical of his approach in the past two seasons, when he hasn’t hesitated to play the backup. It’s a philosophy that Wilson admits “grates on Guy’s nerves,” but it’s one Hebert has grown accustomed to.

“I think I’m already used to it,” Hebert said. “That’s why I’m not ranting and raving right now.”

Shtalenkov was in goal against Buffalo for the Ducks’ only victory and gave up only one goal. Hebert’s stats in three losses have been unspectacular--a 4.02 goals-against average and an .865 save percentage--but many of the goals came on shots from the slot, which are hard to blame him for.

“It’s disappointing, no question,” said Hebert, who has been playing with a sore right ankle but said it hasn’t hampered his play. He also has a cold.

“I don’t know what the coaches think of my performance so far,” Hebert said. “It could have been better, but I don’t think I’m solely responsible for the losses. I thought I played pretty well.”

Even Shtalenkov was a bit surprised to start. He made some sharp saves early, but he didn’t look good on Linden’s goal and defenseman Robert Dirk might have saved a goal by sweeping away a loose puck well behind him later. The third period, though, was a disaster all around.

Notes

The Montreal Canadiens hadn’t sought permission to speak to the Ducks’ Pierre Gauthier by the end of the day Wednesday, leading Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira to believe they probably won’t. “I think they’ve made up their minds,” he said. Gauthier, the Ducks’ assistant general manager, was hotly rumored in Montreal as a potential successor to General Manager Serge Savard, who was fired Tuesday. Gauthier said he was “honored to be rumored,” but none of the dozens of calls he received from Montreal were from the Canadiens. The names on an overheated rumor mill include John Ferguson, formerly with Ottawa, but range as far afield as former Canadien goaltender Ken Dryden and former Islanders coach Al Arbour. . . . It was the first meeting of the season between the Ducks and Canucks, who might open next season with a two-game series in Japan. The NHL has yet to announce plans, but one Duck official said he is 90% certain it will happen. Ferreira is already thinking of holding part of training camp in Hawaii to ease the travel stress. . . . Defenseman Milos Holan returned to the Duck lineup after missing three games because of cold symptoms. . . . The Duck scratches were forwards Patrik Carnback and Todd Ewen and defensemen Oleg Mikulchik and Randy Ladouceur.