Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Selanne: Ducks’ league-worst power play ‘not pretty to watch’

Anaheim Ducks v San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - DECEMBER 26: Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks looks on against the San Jose Sharks during a break in the action at HP Pavilion at San Jose on December 26, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Getty Images

One of the most startling stats from this young season comes out of Anaheim, where the Ducks are a ghastly 1-for-23 on the power play this season -- a league-worst 4.4 percent.

Teemu Selanne, the club’s elder statesman, summed up the struggles succinctly.

“Power killers,” Selanne said, as per the L.A. Times. “It’s not pretty to watch. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Anaheim’s lone PPG came in its second game of the season, a 4-3 OT win over Minnesota. Since then, the Ducks have gone 0-4 (vs. Winnipeg), 0-6 twice (vs. the Rangers and Sens) and 0-2 in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Calgary.

The Ducks’ anemic power play has largely been masked because they’re on fire -- winning five straight after a 6-1 loss to Colorado to start the year -- and it’s assumed that, with all their offensive firepower, things will turn around.

It’s also been noted the Ducks aren’t suffering from a lack of opportunities.

Anaheim fired 16 shots on goal on its six power play chances against Ottawa on Sunday, and that came three days after firing 11 shots on six PPs against the Rangers.

Things didn’t go as well against Calgary (Anaheim had as many shots on the power play -- four -- as it did shorthanded), and the Ducks did blow a full five-minute man advantage after Tim Jackman was tossed for butt-ending Sami Vatanen.

Head coach Bruce Boudreau acknowledged things didn’t look pretty, especially on the PP, but was grateful to escape with a victory.

“I didn’t think we had much flow at all,” he told the Ducks website. “We won, and we’re grateful we won.”