Power Play Is Unleashed Briefly

For one power-play shift against Detroit on Sunday, the Mighty Ducks were lethal.

Steve Rucchin redirected a shot and clanked the puck off the post. Matt Cullen whipped a shot in from the faceoff circle. Marty McInnis took the rebound, then slipped the puck to Mike Leclerc, who had an open net to shoot at.

It was the Ducks first power-play goal in five games, covering 20 man-advantage opportunities.

“We were moving our feet better [Sunday],” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “Sometimes we get static. We try to create something instead of moving and working.”

The Ducks’ power play has been a sometimes-hot, sometimes-not frustration for Hartsburg the last two seasons. They wallowed the first half of last season to become respectable.

The Ducks continued that dipping and darting journey this season. They have converted on 17% of their power plays, ranking them 13th in a 30-team league.

Teemu Selanne’s five power-place goals are only two off the league leaders. Boston’s Joe Thornton and Pittsburgh’s Robert Lang each have seven.

Yet the Ducks have hit severe droughts at times.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games, so getting something out of our power play can make a huge difference,” Leclerc said.

The Ducks were blanked on their four other power plays Sunday. They failed to get a shot off on two of them.

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The Ducks now have six centers on the roster, not including McInnis, who can play the position. Help is needed. The Ducks have won 45.5% of their face-offs. Only Pittsburgh is worse, at 44.8%.

“That is certainly the center’s No. 1 job,” center Cullen said. “You don’t want to spend the first 20 seconds of a shift chasing the puck around.”

Sunday’s game demonstrated how that hurts a team. The Ducks had a power play for the last 44 seconds. They pulled goalie Guy Hebert, giving them a two-man advantage. Rucchin, though, did not win the faceoff, and by the time the Ducks got possession there was little time left to mount a serious attack.

Detroit won 58% of the face-offs Sunday. The Red Wings are second in the NHL at 54.29%.

Rucchin is the Ducks’ best center on faceoffs, winning 51.32%. Cullen, who has improved, has won 44.8%.

“It’s not always the center’s fault,” Hartsburg said. “Sometimes the other players have to come up with the puck.”

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The Ducks, weary from two hectic days, did not practice Monday. The team lost to Colorado on Saturday, then was stranded in Denver overnight because of mechanical problems with their charter flight. The Ducks flew home Sunday morning, then played the Red Wings in a 5 p.m. game.