Duck Shots

A first-half update on the Mighty Ducks.

Deals that added other teams’ fourth- and third-liners are hard to swallow now that the Ducks are at the All-Star break with only one line doing the scoring. On Wednesday night, Calgary showed that a defense-first approach will wear down the Ducks. A look at the scoring stats shows Teemu Selanne (56 points), Paul Kariya (44) and Steve Rucchin (27) at the top. In the Nos. 4 to 10 spots, you will find players who scored in spurts and then went silent.

Kevin Todd (25) has no goals in his last 18 games, and he was one of the hot ones earlier in the season. Dmitri Mironov (25) and J.F. Jomphe (18) get on the score sheet at times, as have Warren Rychel (16), Joe Sacco (17), Jari Kurri (20) and Brian Bellows (15).

At No. 11 is Roman Oksiuta (11 points), who doesn’t get on the ice because he’s a defensive liability. But he remains the 11th-best scorer on a team that wants to make the playoffs and yet took a pass on Bernie Nicholls, Tony Granato and others in the off-season.

After a terrible October (1-9-2, three points), the Ducks gained some respect in November (6-5-2, 14 points) and December (6-5-1, 13 points). Kariya’s return from an injury ignited that spurt, but that’s exactly the way Anaheim gets its points and goals now.

The Ducks are still not in a playoff spot or spurt. In the next 38 games, scoring and leadership will be the key things to watch. Will Kariya, the captain, dump the puck in when he should to help the team set up? Or will he play one-on-one and try to stick handle his way out of trouble, as he did on occasion last Sunday in Vancouver, and send his teammates in offside.

Can Ron Wilson find a way to get his team moving ahead quickly and avoid excuses (video goal judges, bad calls, illegal pads and sticks) in the second half? If so, the future can be bright. If not, burnout is just down the hall.

And does General Manager Jack Ferreira look to add more aces, or thumb through the discard pile of other teams to fill his hand when the stakes go up?

Here’s a look at what’s on the table.

* Where they stand: 17-22-5 (39 points), tied for fourth in the Pacific Division, tied for ninth in the Western Conference.

* Who’s hot: Guy Hebert (13-15-5) has made the transition from expansion pick to starting goaltender in the NHL. He has been there to make the save when the shooter was left open after a Duck forward left the defensive zone early looking for a home-run pass that never came.

* Who’s not: The power play, penalty killers, Jari Kurri, team defense and the defensemen have appeared in this spot. For the most part, they still are looking to come out of the cold.

UPCOMING

* Wednesday, New Jersey (7:30 p.m., no TV): Let’s see if we can figure this one out. The Devils get ranked among the top 10 in the final week of 1996 and then disappear the next two weeks. Defense wins games because the offense comes in droplets. The Devils are near the bottom in goals scored (113) and the power play is the league’s worst (12.3%).