Anaheim Mighty Ducks Hockey Team

There was no three-goal lead for the Mighty Ducks to blow this time around, but there was the feeling that their minds were still on their inexplicable come-from-ahead loss to Dallas the night before. At least that's what it looked like Saturday night as the Ducks didn't offer up much of a threat to the Minnesota Wild in a 4-1 loss before a sellout crowd at the Xcel Energy Center.

Mighty Duck forward Petr Sykora, who had two of the franchise's most important goals during a Stanley Cup run three years ago but who struggled to score this season, was traded to the New York Rangers on Sunday for young defenseman Maxim Kondratiev. The 29-year-old native of the Czech Republic is having one of the worst seasons of his 10-year NHL career, with only seven goals and 20 points in 34 games. General Manager Brian Burke said he wasn't comfortable with paying Sykora nearly $1.

Seemingly linked together since they were selected by the Mighty Ducks in the first round of the 2003 draft, rookie forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were recalled Sunday with the same goal in mind -- staying in Anaheim for good. Getzlaf and Perry made the team out of training camp with stellar play during the exhibition season but both found that their first full taste of the NHL wasn't always sweet.

Neither the Kings nor the Mighty Ducks had met expectations as they congregated at the Arrowhead Pond on Monday night at the midway point of the season. The Ducks were considered a certain playoff team by many preseason prognosticators but are sitting on the outside looking in after a disappointing first half. The Kings have surpassed all their forecasts by surging to first place in the Pacific Division. Nothing went as expected in the third meeting between the rivals this season.

The Mighty Ducks' power play has languished among the bottom third of the NHL for the majority of the season, but the unit is showing signs of life. They still rank 24th out of 30 teams in man-advantage situations but they had two power-play goals in the first period Friday against Dallas and Monday night at home against the Kings. Overall, they have converted only 15.5% of their opportunities -- 39 goals in 251 chances.

Normally one to bark out commands throughout each practice session, Mighty Duck Coach Randy Carlyle was unusually quiet Wednesday as he mostly stood by the boards and occasionally gathered up scattered pucks. Instead of assistant coaches Dave Farrish and Newell Brown mapping out drills, it was Keith Carney, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Vitaly Vishnevski and even rookie Ilya Bryzgalov providing the direction. No, the inmates haven't taken over the asylum.

The Mighty Ducks got some encouraging news after learning that forward Rob Niedermayer may be close to resuming off-ice workouts now that his concussion-related symptoms appear to be subsiding. However, there is no date as to when he will be back. Niedermayer will sit out his fourth consecutive game tonight when the Ducks play the Washington Capitals. There is a chance he may join the Ducks at some point during their upcoming trip that has games Monday at Boston and Thursday at Ottawa.

Forward Teemu Selanne opted to use caution with his injured groin as he sat out Friday night's home game against the Washington Capitals. The Ducks' leading scorer took part in the morning skate and tested the injury in the pregame warmup but said earlier in the day that he would decide at game time if he would be able to play. Selanne injured the groin during practice Wednesday. "In the morning practice, you don't have a chance to push it as much," Selanne said.

Except for maybe Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Scott Niedermayer, there isn't a Mighty Duck player who can match the natural talent of electrifying rookie forward Alexander Ovechkin. And while the young star is very much a one-man show for the Washington Capitals, he drove home the point of his wondrous gifts with a command performance Friday night at the Arrowhead Pond.

The Mighty Ducks have their share of impressive victories. The list of triumphs includes potential playoff teams Detroit, Calgary, Nashville, Tampa Bay and the Kings. Then there are the maddening losses to bottom-feeders such as Columbus and Washington or their three losses to offense-challenged Minnesota, the 12th-place team in the Western Conference.