Ducks search for consistency as they prepare for the New York Islanders

Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf has seen his team go through enough crests and lulls to know that it can smooth out over an 82-game season.

He only has to look at last year’s miserable 1-7-2 start, which morphed into a Pacific Division title season. Though he recognized the Ducks’ latest low, a no-show start in a big divisional game Sunday, Getzlaf also said the lack of emotion there shouldn’t ring a loud alarm.

“We addressed it a little bit and talked about it, but you’re always going to have those sort of games where, once in a while, things creep in like that, where for whatever reason you come out flat,” Getzlaf said.

“It’s just a matter of developing that consistency where you’re there night in, night out.”

Spells of confoundingly dismal play were a big part of former Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau’s tenure, and a loss to the Kings was proof that they haven’t gone away under the present coach, Randy Carlyle. Anaheim will hit the 20-game mark Tuesday without a three-game win streak, and Carlyle said that “we’re a hockey club that is still trying to find its way.”

“We haven’t really created our identity yet. Consistency, in everybody’s mind, is going to be a challenge well beyond the 20-game mark,” he said.

The clock would seem to tick faster now that the Ducks mostly have their full roster available. But that identity can’t be fully formed when their star players misplace theirs.

Getzlaf and Corey Perry are the Ducks’ leading scorers, but Getzlaf has one goal and Perry is on an 11-game scoring slump. Carlyle said Monday he talked with Perry and told him it was a matter of positioning.

“My conversation with Corey Perry was [that] ‘You don’t seem to have the puck at all, so you’re fading away from the puck, and you’re standing still in the neutral ice,’” Carlyle said. “‘So come back a little deeper and get some momentum instead of standing and posting up all the time.’”

Perry has endured droughts before. He scored one goal in his first 13 games last season and finished with 34 goals. Perry does have nine assists during his streak but Getzlaf took notice of his linemate.

“It’s weird to see him have this much time off of a goal,” Getzlaf said.

Carlyle said defenseman Clayton Stoner is under further evaluation for a lower-body injury.

Vermette sets record

Antoine Vermette was surprised to see that he won 20 of 21 faceoffs against the Kings. The 95.2% success rate is the highest single-game percentage in Ducks history for a minimum of 20 attempts, and fourth-highest in the NHL since faceoffs became a statistic in 1997-98.

Vermette, the NHL’s leader at 67%, said he’s had games with 20 faceoff wins but not that high a percentage.

“I don’t remember [doing that],” Vermette said. “They don’t happen too often.”

Vermette said jokingly that the one loss was because of teammate Jakob Silfverberg’s failed attempt to grab the puck.

“Silvy apologized,” Vermette said. “[He said,] ‘Sorry but the puck was there and I just reached for it.’ That must have been the one.”

NEXT UP

DUCKS VS. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Honda Center.

On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 830

Update: Islanders free-agent pickup Andrew Ladd, a 25-goal scorer last year, has three points. The Islanders are the only NHL team that is winless on the road, at 0-4-1.