The Ducks arrived at the midpoint of their 82-game regular-season schedule as an enigma if there ever was one.

Tied with the Vancouver Canucks at 21-15-5 for fifth place in the Western Conference after Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, the Ducks are by no means a shoo-in to make a fourth consecutive Stanley Cup playoff appearance and would certainly appear hard-pressed to gain home-ice advantage in the first round.

Four points behind the fourth-place Chicago Blackhawks, who hold four games in hand, the Ducks have won only three times in their last eight games, and aside from an 8-0-1 run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 5, their record is a pedestrian 12-15-4.

A recent trend of blowing leads and a season-long battle to stay out of the penalty box are among...

Because of the Ducks' smothering defense, goalie Jonas Hiller didn't have to work very hard. "I've never had that low a shot total against, so definitely we played pretty well defensively," Hiller said Tuesday night after facing only 18 shots in Anaheim's 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. "They didn't have many good scoring chances at all.

Randy Carlyle found a lot to like in the Ducks' all-around play. "Tonight was our best team effort that we've had," the Anaheim coach said after a 2-0 victory over Phoenix on Sunday night. "I think the difference in the game was our special teams. "We got two power-play goals and they went (0-for-4) on their power play, so our penalty killers and our power play stood up." Rookie Bobby Ryan had a...