Wild 3, Ducks 2.

"The new guys have a responsibility to try and fit in, and the veteran players have a responsibility to help those new guys feel comfortable, to help teach, to be a good teammate, all those things," the coach said. "But it's not the new guys who have made the mistakes. They're not immune from making mistakes, but what I described tonight--"

A description of the Ducks' demise Sunday began with an unlucky bounce, a pass which deflected off the pads of goaltender Jonas Hiller and onto the wide-open stick of Minnesota's Stephane Veilleux, for an easy goal 68 seconds into the game.

Digging out of this early hole was made difficult by resilient Wild goaltender Nicklas Backstrom, who got the quick hook Saturday at Staples Center but rebounded nicely with a 36-save effort.

A short-handed goal by a hustling Todd Marchant tied the game, 1-1, 5:10 into the second period, but two critical mistakes dug the Ducks' hole even deeper.

Defenseman James Wisniewski forced a pass from his own zone to center ice, where Minnesota defenseman Kim Johnsson sealed off the puck and tipped it to teammate Owen Nolan, who dished to a wide-open Veilleux. Veilleux took advantage of an unobstructed path to Hiller, rifling a forehand through at 16:38 of the second period.

Then in the third period, the Wild's James Sheppard corralled a puck bouncing off the end wall and threaded a nifty pass to Andrew Brunette at center ice. Hiller was helpless again as the Wild forward skated in unguarded for the goal at 11:49.

With 21.6 seconds left in the game and Hiller on the bench, Scott Niedermayer poked in a rare second-chance effort, but that was all the Ducks would get. There were plenty of boos and plenty of empty seats at the finish, not to mention the echoes of Friday's loss on the scoreboard.

The difference, said Scott Niedermayer: "I don't know if we had as many quality chances as we did in the last game."

"A few little (defensive) breakdowns again, and they're in the net," the captain added. "I don't think we're a team playing to our capability and our highest confidence level. We shouldn't make those mistakes."

The scoresheet revealed 12 Ducks giveaways to the Wild's seven, certainly not the effort one would have predicted against a Minnesota team playing its sixth and final game of a season-long road trip.

"I wouldn't say that I would be too courteous in the compliments for tonight's game," Carlyle said. "Those things that are mistakes that are mental mistakes. That's not the hockey we're accustomed to playing."

The Ducks' outlook in the standings is grim: 11th place for now, but they could slip to 13th if the two teams beneath them (St. Louis and the Kings) were each to win their two games in hand.

Notable: In his second game as a Duck, LW Erik Christensen was a minus-three. ... Asked about the decision to start Hiller, who made 22 saves after sitting the last three games, Carlyle said "we needed somebody to step up." ... Chris Pronger was recognized before the game, with his family on a red carpet at center ice, for playing his 1,000th career game Feb. 20 in Detroit. ... The Ducks host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.