Special Teams Are Not Up to the Task

After a day off in which to sift through the rubble of an 0-3 start, the Mighty Ducks return to practice today knowing that they have several areas to upgrade before playing Ottawa on Friday.

Special teams certainly rate more attention.

The power play, mediocre last season, is off to a one-for-12 start. With Sergei Fedorov and Vaclav Prospal on the roster, the power play was expected to be dramatically improved.

The Ducks could have tied the score against Nashville on Thursday by scoring on either of two power plays in the third period. They had a similar chance against Phoenix on Sunday, but were turned away by Coyote goaltender Sean Burke.

“We need a power play goal,” Fedorov said. “The power-play unit is something we need to work on.”

The penalty kill, which ranked second in the NHL last season, has surrendered a goal in each of the first three games. Nashville got a third-period power-play goal, off a defensive lapse, that clinched its victory. Phoenix converted a turnover into a power-play goal in the first period, the game-winner in a 2-0 victory.

“We didn’t even make them work for it,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “That was a freebie. We have given up four freebies in three games.”

The Ducks also are spending more time in the penalty box this season. They had the third-lowest penalty minutes in the NHL last season, but are up about 10 minutes per game.

The Ducks penalty-killing units miss defenseman Keith Carney, who is out with a broken foot. Carney excels in that area. Still ....

“Obviously, we’re not doing the job,” Steve Rucchin said. “Right now, our penalty killing has to do better for us to win.”

All of which comes down to one over-riding problem.

“The only time I’ve seen us play is when we got behind [Sunday],” Babcock said. “We were desperate there at the end, started to move the puck, skate and compete. That’s the first time I saw life. We think the competition level has to be a lot higher.”