Henrik Zetterberg,Anthony Mantha,Steve Ott

Steve Ott (right) might join Anthony Mantha (left) and Henrik Zetterberg on a power-play unit for the Red Wings.

(The Associated Press)

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Detroit Red Wings need something to jump-start the power play, particularly on the road. A couple of new looks can't hurt.

Steve Ott practiced on one unit Tuesday at Honda Center. Andreas Athanasiou joined the other unit, which consisted of five forwards.

Coach Jeff Blashill said he wanted to evaluate in practice and didn't commit to using them Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks (10:30 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit) in the start of three-game California trip.

The Red Wings' league-worst power play (11.7 percent) has been particularly bad on the road (2 for 53, 3.8 percent) -- the next-worst road power play is converting at 10.8 percent (New Jersey).

Detroit hasn't scored on 48 power-play opportunities on the road dating back to Thomas Vanek's goal at 6:15 of the first period on Oct. 19, in a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

"What's happened up until now is over. There's nothing you can do about that," Blashill said. "What you can do is try to find ways to be successful.

"We have to continue to grind. We, as a coaching staff, have to continue to drill them to be better at it. We have to continue to teach them to be better at it. And as players they've got to go out and execute at a high level. But certainly, we've looked at different things."

Using Ott in a net-front capacity on the power play is not a stretch for a player who has been a fourth-line grinder more recently. He played on the power play extensively earlier in his career with Dallas but wasn't used as much in that capacity in St. Louis. He has 28 goals and 28 assists on the power play.

"The reason I would be there is to try to retrieve pucks and get pucks in the hands of players that make plays," Ott said. "Sacrifice in front of the net, doing anything right now. We need to find ways to generate more momentum."

Ott replaced Riley Sheahan on the unit with Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha and Niklas Kronwall.

"I think the biggest issue with our power play is we don't spend enough time in the zone," Blashill said. "There's two reasons for that -- we don't retrieve enough pucks, so (Ott) can certainly help with retrieval of pucks - and the break-in.

"Everybody's talking about how few shots we have. I think a lot of that has to do with we don't have enough zone time. So, you need somebody who's going to win pucks back, and he's got the ability to be a net-front guy as well."

Said Ott: "What hurts a penalty kill? It's when you retrieve pucks after the first opportunity. If you're one and done and it goes straight down the ice, the penalty kill continues to generate momentum. But if you take a shot and then you retrieve the puck and get another opportunity, you continue to get momentum and you get percentage-based shots towards the net, that's when you start really deteriorating that penalty kill.

"I'm not the answer by any means. All of us collectively have to continue to get better."

Athanasiou replaced Brendan Smith and joined Gustav Nyquist at the point on a unit with Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek (net front).

"I think with the speed, especially on the entry, that would help for sure," Blashill said. "That's an area where AA has helped the power play in the past. I don't know if I'm going to stay with the five forwards. Ultimately, I don't think it matters what position you play, but it does matter the responsibility level."