Four full days: Wednesday Ducks practice*

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*-- Updates with Wisniewski release from hospital.

Through three games, the third period has been white-knuckle time for the Ducks in their playoff series with Detroit.
Even though Anaheim leads the series 2-1, they've been outshot 51-17 in the third period, and outscored 2-0. That includes Detroit's 18-3 advantage in Tuesday's Game 3.
Add in the three overtimes in Game 2, and the Ducks have been outgunned 80-34 after the second intermission.
A couple of different theories were advanced by the Ducks to try to explain this after their team meeting and optional practice on Wednesday at the Honda Center.
"I don't think anybody's happy how we played the third period," said Teemu Selanne. " It seems like every time when we start to play safe and start backing up, we're going to have problems.
"The best defense is offense. You can't really change your style and your game plan there. And I think we changed too much in the third period, and they got momentum."
Forward Todd Marchant thinks desperation on the part of the Red Wings is a factor.
"In two of the games, we've been in the lead, and they've been trying to catch us," he said. "And in one game, it was tied.
"You know, when a team is down or fighting back, you're going to do anything you possibly can. At times, it's very difficult with the team that is in the lead to turn that around and get your opportunities. A lot of times it seems like you're receiving rushes because they are putting pressure on you. And they're taking chances. So it's certainly an area we have to improve that, and hopefully we can do that in Game 4."
It's also been suggested that the Ducks, who are not spreading their minutes around quite as evenly as the Red Wings, might be wearing down as the game progressed, a theory that sent coach Randy Carlyle into full bristling, blustering mode.
"Well, they like to tell everyone they are (wearing Anaheim down)," Carlyle said, referring to the Red Wings. "They're worried about our players. I've got to worry about our players. I'm worried about our players performing to the level they perform to.
"As far as anybody getting tired: It's the playoffs, they're young, they're well-conditioned athletes. We worry about our players and we take the necessary steps that we feel are going to give us the best chance to recover."
Wisniewski update: As of the Ducks' practice, defenseman James Wisniewski had been scheduled to remain at the UCI Medical Center until Thursday morning after being hospitalized with a lung contusion after taking a shot to the chest in Game 3. He's expected to be released from the hospital Thursday morning.
"He'll stay, I think it's a 36-hour time frame, just to watch as a precautionary (measure)," said Carlyle. "He's moving forward, he's healing. He's just in a situation where he'll rest in the hospital."
But later Wednesday afternoon, the Ducks reported Wisniewski had been cleared to go home and released from the hospital.
Carlyle said there is no estimate when or if Wisniewski might return.
"Obviously we have to wait sure there's no more damage being done, or his recovery is fully under way," he said. "It's a unique injury from the standpoint that with all the protection that's out there, you very rarely get a puck in that area."
Brendan Mikkelson, Brett Festerling and Brian Salcido are the candidates to move into the starting lineup. None have seen playoff action so far. Mikkelson played 34 regular-season games with two assists and a plus-minus of zero; Festerling played 40 games and had five assists and was plus-five. Salcido, a 24-year-old born in Hermosa Beach, played two games, had one assist and was plus two; with the Ducks' Iowa farm team, he had 10 goals, 33 assists and 108 penalty minutes, and was minus-22.
"We have to make a decision on one of those three," said Carlyle, "and we'll do that in the next 24 hours. Both Festerling and Mikkelson have played with our hockey club this year, so we feel confident with putting one of those guys in."
Carlyle also referenced Tomas Holmstrom's elbow to Wisniewski after the defenseman had been hit by the puck, as he had after Tuesday's game. So he was asked if he knew if the league was reviewing the hit.
"Don't know that," he said. "Don't know that for sure.
"There were a few incidents last night that I'm sure left the war room" -- the NHL situation room in Toronto, where goals and other plays are reviewed -- "scanning tapes. There was a cross-check in the last flurry, with 10 seconds left, to the head area, on Scotty Niedermayer. There were a few upper blows being delivered in various situations in the series."
Carlyle was asked who cross-checked Niedermayer.
"Do I have to give you everything, for crying out loud?" he responded.
Given a yes in response, he didn't hesitate: "(Johan) Franzen."
Franzen, incidentally, is tied for the Red Wings' scoring lead with four goals and eight points in seven games.
Not letting go: Inevitably, there was still a lot of talk about the tying goal that wasn't, a Detroit score by Marion Hossa with 1:04 remaining that would have made it 2-2, but was disallowed because referee Brad Watson lost sight of the puck and blew his whistle.
"Last night was a situation that probably happens," said Carlyle, "on our hockey club, five or six times a year, where a puck is available, for us or against us. Those things happen all the time. And everybody's saying why did they blow the whistle? Well, because the individual lost sight of the puck. It's all about positioning. He moved to the corner, and fortunately for us, his sight line was blocked.
"We got a break."
Said Selanne, "Yeah, it was lucky. The referee, he didn't see the puck, and makes the whistle. It was our luck."
Selanne was asked if there should be a way to review such plays, but recognized this would be almost impossible because at least some players stop when they hear the whistle.
"It's hard when the referee blows the whistle," he said. "I don't think you can go and have any other option. That's the tough part. ...
"That was a good break for us. It's tough. The refereeing in this league is not easy. Everything happens so quickly and you have to react.
It was a tough break for Detroit, but you know, you have to move on."

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All Over the Place
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David Lassen has written for The Star and one of its predecessors, the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle, for more than 20 years, and has been the paper's sports columnist since 2000.

He has covered the last four Olympics, as well as the World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, NCAA Final Four and a wide variety of other events.