Power Play Still Forming

Last season, the Ducks had one of the least-respected power plays in the NHL.

Not anymore. With the addition of Adam Oates, Petr Sykora and Sandis Ozolinsh, opponents fear the Ducks’ power play, which entered Friday’s game against the New York Rangers ranked eighth in the league.

Sykora is among the NHL leaders in power-play goals with 13, and Paul Kariya is not far behind with nine. Yet the Ducks are just getting used to playing together.

“We’re getting big-time attack time,” said Coach Mike Babcock, whose team features 10 players with at least two power-play goals. “But we’re not getting enough motion.”

Since Ozolinsh was picked up in a trade from Florida on Jan. 30, the Ducks’ power-play unit has at times seemed too passive. That was the case early Friday on Anaheim’s first power-play opportunity against the Rangers, when Ozolinsh and Oates spent a lot of time on the perimeter passing to each other instead of getting more shots at New York goaltender Mike Dunham.

“We have to get the puck to the net more, and I don’t care who that is,” Babcock said.

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Winger Mike Leclerc, bothered by a left knee injury, was replaced in the lineup Friday by rookie Jonathan Hedstrom, who appeared in his third NHL game.