Can’t Get There From Here

The Ducks’ trip to Vancouver, Canada, took almost 24 hours, required two buses, two chartered aircraft and an unplanned overnight stay at a Seattle-Tacoma airport hotel.

If that sounds a little like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” then you’ve got the idea.

The trip normally takes about 2 1/2 hours by air, but mechanical difficulties on two planes forced the Ducks to wait and wait and wait some more.

There was a seven-hour delay Thursday at Long Beach Airport while waiting for a second aircraft to arrive to replace the first one. The Ducks passed the time by watching “The Firm,” “Primal Fear,” “The Pelican Brief” . . . and “Slap Shot,” of course.

The replacement plane wasn’t cleared to land in Canada, so the plan was to make it as far as Bellingham, Wash., then board a bus for the hourlong ride north of the border.

But mechanical troubles forced that plane to land in Seattle at midnight.

Faced with a three-hour bus ride from Seattle to Vancouver, the Ducks opted for a night at a hotel. They bused Friday morning to Vancouver, arriving at about 12:30 p.m.

Tonight at Calgary

7, Channel 9

Site--Canadian Airlines Saddledome.

Radio--XTRA (690).

Records--Ducks 4-6-4 Flames 6-7-2.

Record vs. Flames (1997-98)--2-2-1.

Update--Guy Hebert is expected to start in goal for the Ducks tonight after missing Friday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Hebert started 12 in a row, going 4-4-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average, before Friday. Dominic Roussel, who hadn’t played since losing to the Washington Capitals, 1-0, Oct. 10, started against the Canucks.