MIGHTY DUCK NOTEBOOK / ELLIOTT TEAFORD : Again, There’s No Power in This Anemic Power Play

The Mighty Ducks’ anemic power play, worst in the NHL, has rarely been as glaringly ineffective as it was early in the third period of their 2-0 loss to Dallas Friday night at The Pond.

Handed two quality chances to erase a two-goal deficit, or at least chip away at the Stars’ 2-0 lead, the Ducks flopped.

First, with Dallas tough guy Shane Churla in the penalty box for slashing 31 seconds into the third period, the Ducks went without a shot on goal. Then, with Paul Broten off for tripping barely two minutes later, they failed to produce again.

Game after game, nothing seems to hold the Ducks back more this season than their ineffective power play. After going 0 for 3 Friday, the Ducks are 15 for 146 (10.3%), a shade worse than New Jersey (13 for 120, 10.8%). Last season, they also had the league’s weakest power play, so it’s not something new.

They’ve traded to bolster their power play, practiced relentlessly, but for some reason can’t seem to jell.

“We had a chance to at least get back in the game,” said defenseman Jason York, acquired in the trade Tuesday that sent Stu Grimson to Detroit. “We’ve got to get a few more shots than that.”

It would seem to be a start.

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Ice from hell? No question The Pond is a state of the art arena, but until recently it appeared to have one serious design flaw.

The ice was no damn good.

Former Duck Terry Yake often grumbled about the poor condition of the ice last season. Last month, Detroit’s Paul Coffey said skating on it was like dragging a house behind you. King Coach Barry Melrose recently wondered if the ice plant worked at all.

The good news is that arena management has taken steps to correct the problems. The team has also limited the ice time of the Decoys dancers, who skate infrequently and perform their routines on a protective covering at center ice.

Mike O’Donnell of Ogden, the arena’s management firm, has become an expert in relative humidity and other factors needed to produce quality ice. Players complained that the ice was chipping and flaking so much that it was difficult to make a smooth move with the puck or pass it accurately, particularly late in games.

“We did a little research and called in some consultants and now we feel we’re making an excellent ice sheet,” O’Donnell said. “One thing we’ve done is cut down on the relative humidity in the building. We’ve raised the temperature of the ice to put more moisture in the ice sheet.”

The players have noticed the improved conditions.

“It’s gotten a lot better the last couple of games, but it’s certainly not one of the better ice sheets in the league,” Paul Kariya said. “A lot of it has to do with the humidity in the building and they seem to have gotten a handle on that and the last couple of games have been much better.

“But you know we’re not in Edmonton where it’s colder out and easier to get harder ice.”

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Calder Trophy watch: Quebec’s Peter Forsberg has gained a sizable lead over Kariya in the rookie scoring race with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) to Kariya’s 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) going into Friday.

They are challenged by goaltenders Jim Carey of Washington and Blaine Lacher of Boston for rookie of the year honors. Carey, rookie of the month for March, has lifted the Capitals from a 3-10-5 record when he was promoted from the minors to a 16-12-7 mark and second place in the Atlantic Division.

At this point, Forsberg might rate a slight favorite with voters. Working in Forsberg’s favor are his point total, a plus-minus rating of plus-15 and Quebec’s record of 25-9-3, tops in the Northeast Division.

As for Kariya, he said he’s not losing sleep worrying about winning the award.

“To tell you the truth, I really don’t think about it,” he said. “The only time I think about it is when the media brings it up.”