Kariya Wants to Have Seconds

They can’t score. Their power play stinks. Their defense is no bargain. They aren’t tough enough. They’ve got lousy luck. They have zero depth. The general manager can’t make a trade. The coach is frustrated.

Yes, the Mighty Ducks are in midseason form.

With the weeklong All-Star break ending with a game tonight against their 1993 expansion brethren, the Florida Panthers, the Ducks find themselves with a losing record and out of a playoff spot.

So what else is new?

That’s been the situation for three consecutive seasons.

“We’re not out of it by any stretch of the imagination,” captain Paul Kariya said.

But. . . .

“Everybody’s got to pick it up,” Kariya said, including himself in his midseason analysis of the Ducks. “The first thing you’ve got to do is look at yourself in the mirror. It’s not that the effort is not there. Maybe it’s that hunger to score. Instead of getting five chances to score, you’ve got to push for 10. If a guy stops you with a save, you’ve got to be right there for the rebound.

“Again and again and again.”

Persistence and consistency are hallmarks of Kariya’s play. After all, he has nine goals and 18 points in 16 games since he ended a 32-game contract dispute by signing a two-year, $14-million contract Dec. 11.

So, it was surprising to hear him say Tuesday he must do more to put the Ducks on a path toward their second consecutive winning record and playoff appearance.

It would seem to be plenty for Kariya, with help from All-Star game most valuable player Teemu Selanne, to shoulder the Ducks’ scoring burden. But Kariya has agreed to meet Coach Pierre Page’s demands for something extra.

“What Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne can do is work with the other guys,” Page said. “Instead of doing more as individuals, they can do more with the team. They can help us by lifting guys up, getting everyone pumped up.”

Said Kariya: “I’ve got to try to be more vocal. I’m not a rah-rah guy. I think you can be as vocal as you want, but you’ve got to lead on the ice.”

Popping in a few goals on the power play might be just what the Ducks need to snap out of what has become a traditional midseason funk. They reached the break with only one goal in the last 47 chances with the man advantage. Their 11.3% conversion rate at the break was the fourth-lowest in the NHL, below the league average of 14.9%.

“Our line has to pick up some goals on the power play to lift us and get us going,” Kariya said. “The penalty kill is good. Guy [Hebert] is playing well in goal. We’re holding teams to 2.5 goals a game lately, so we’re in every game. There are a lot of positive signs.”

But transforming the power play appears to be crucial to the Ducks’ hopes for a third consecutive late-season surge.

Last season, they reached the break with a 17-22-5 record, but went 19-11-8 down the stretch to secure a playoff berth. Their power play clicked at a 16.8% conversion rate by season’s end.

In 1995-96, they hit the break with a 16-26-5 mark, but a 19-13-3 record in the second half wasn’t good enough to get them into the playoffs. Their power play clicked at only a 14.1% success rate.

“The power-play unit has got to be hungry,” Kariya said. “We’ve got to do whatever it takes--whether it’s having a guy in front of the net or more shots from the point. We’re not hungry enough right now.”

Page hopes moving Kariya to the point from the left wing starting tonight will give the Ducks a different look on the power play.

“It’s going to help us,” said Kariya, who often played like a defenseman at the blue line under former coach Ron Wilson. “[Scoring on the power play] is like hitting in baseball. If somebody gets a big hit, then the team gets energized.

“Our line has got to lead the way.”

Kariya said he spent the All-Star break thinking of ways to make it happen.

“It gave me a chance to think about the way I have been playing and some adjustments I need to make,” Kariya said. “I need to get more shots on net. I’ve played a bit too much on the perimeter as opposed to just trying to shoot the puck and look for rebound goals.

“Right now, the way teams are playing us that’s the way you’ve got to play. Fancy plays aren’t going to make it.”