Ducks Pull Switch on Power Play

The Mighty Ducks’ power play once was so bad it was laughable.

But they would have lost without it Tuesday night at the Pond.

For the better part of three-plus seasons, the Ducks seemed to chase the puck around the ice while playing with a man advantage. All too often, the opposition appeared to be the one with the advantage.

Tuesday, the Ducks put the puck into the back of the net.

Power-play goals by Paul Kariya, in the second period, and Steve Rucchin, in the third, enabled the Ducks to tie the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-3.

It was the 12th time in the last 13 games the Ducks have scored at least one power-play goal.

Instead of being hamstrung by a punchless power play, the Ducks have evolved into a playoff-caliber team by using it to their advantage. It’s a force now instead of a joke.

No team had a better March on the power play than the Ducks. The Ducks entered March ranked 17th among 26 NHL teams. By month’s end, having converted on 14 of 50 power-play opportunities, they had moved up to ninth overall.

“We’ve been on such a roll, the whole month of March we’ve been strong,” said Rucchin, who scored the tying goal at the 8:43 mark of the third period with Chicago’s Alex Zhamnov in the penalty box for hooking. “I’m not sure exactly what it is, but we know we have the personnel to be confident.”

Said Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios: “Kariya and those guys will burn you on the power play, and they did today.”

The Ducks struggled seemingly without hope in their first three seasons, ranking at or near the bottom of the league. Conversion rates of less than 10% were the norm, a source of much consternation to management.

General Manager Jack Ferreira took a chance on aging defenseman Tom Kurvers to quarterback the power play in 1994-95. Didn’t work.

Next, Ferreira tried Fredrik Olausson for 1995-96. Better, but still not good enough.

Last November, Ferreira sent Olausson to Pittsburgh in exchange for Dmitri Mironov. Mironov had fallen out of favor with the Penguins, but quickly showed he could help the Duck power play.

A second trade with Pittsburgh brought J.J. Daigneault to Anaheim on Feb. 21 and Coach Ron Wilson believes the package is now complete.

“We’ve got two major league point men now,” Wilson said. “We have J.J., who only played in about a third of our games last month [because he served a 10-game suspension for abuse of an official]. But we must have been 50% on the power play with J.J.

“The power play is an art. If you have skilled people and make simple passes, you’re going to be successful.”

Tuesday, Daigneault was on the ice for both power-play goals and also scored the Ducks’ first goal, with the teams skating five-on-five at the 18:08 mark of the first period.

Daigneault, who played in his 700th NHL game, extended his point streak to seven consecutive games, the longest by a Duck defenseman in their four-year history.

“Those guys are highly skilled defensemen,” Rucchin said of Daigneault and Mironov. “Really, they’re forwards playing defense.”