CALGARY, Alberta – Brad Lauer knew what the topic was going to be and he embraced it instead of shying away and hoping it would fade away into the air.

“It should be talked about,” Lauer said, an eagerness in his tone.

There are many things the Ducks do right but scoring power play isn’t one of them and it confounds not only all who watch them regularly but the Ducks’ assistant coach who runs it. Lack of success with the man advantage is both recent and extended.

The Ducks enter Wednesday’s game at Calgary on a 0-for-15 run over nine games and a 1-for-24 drought over 15. That’s just the short term.

Over the long haul, the Ducks are converting just 16.8 percent of their power plays and their recent dry spell has dropped them to 22nd in the NHL. This comes after adding Ryan Kesler to a team that was also 22nd last season.

Two other statistics are glaring. Just 12 of Ryan Getzlaf’s team-leading 61 points and four of Corey Perry’s team-best 28 goals have come with the man advantage.

It leads to natural questions. How can a team that ices Kesler with Getzlaf, Perry and other skilled personnel put up such disappointing numbers? What is not happening that keeps them from scoring more often?

“It’s real easy,” Lauer said. “It’s not that difficult. We have a tough time establishing a shot. You watch all the other power plays in the league. We talk to our guys about establishing a shot right away. It’s not about getting set up and looking for the pretty plays.

“The good power plays are power plays that keep things simple. You get to the middle of the ice, you shoot the puck or you get it to the wall, you walk off and you shoot the puck. We haven’t done that consistently all year.”

The lack of an effective point shot has been made more apparent by the loss of Sami Vatanen to a leg injury for the last 12 games. Vatanen’s ability to not only shoot the puck but get it on net and through to the goalie is a reason why 17 of his 34 points have come on the power play.

It is no surprise that the Ducks have come up empty with Vatanen out. It is why they’re hoping his return and the addition of James Wisniewski and his big shot from the point will be the elements needed for a turnaround.

“He certainly brings a new element to our power play,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “I don’t exactly have the booming shot at the point. There are other things that I can bring to the unit.

“To bring in an element like that, it makes teams kind of have to pick and choose what they want to cover and how they want to kill. It’s good for us. Hopefully we can start gaining some momentum from that.”

Not only do the Ducks feel the pressure of going many games without a power-play goal but it is compounded by the lack of opportunities. They’re 16th in that regard with 34 fewer in number than league-leading Tampa Bay. They’ve had three in each of the last two games but had one or fewer seven times in the previous 11.

And they know the whistles are blown less often this time of year and going forward into the playoffs. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said figuring out how referees will call games is a waste of time and “whatever hand we’re dealt, we’ve got to learn not to bitch about it.”

“If you only get one chance, that’s all you get,” Boudreau said. “You got to succeed there. You can’t think it’s going to be a six power play night and if you get one or two at the end, then you’re good to go. Every power play might be the last one.

“If you get in the first period, it might be the only one you get. If you get it in the third period, it might be the only one you get. So you’ve got to make the best of it.”

Said Fowler: “It certainly puts a lot of emphasis on that first power play of the game. We haven’t exactly been a team that’s been averaging four or five chances a night.”

Lauer does believe the Ducks’ power play has become predictable at times but that instead of shooting the puck early and often, the performers are relying too much on their skill and passing to find the perfect look.

The point shot, he said, has to be paramount and established quickly to get penalty killers scrambling around and out of position. And the power play has to at least give the Ducks momentum to work off of even it is doesn’t result in a goal.

“Things got to be a lot quicker,” Lauer said. “You can’t wait and stickhandle and hope that they’re not going to come across. We watch enough video. We break down teams. We show their tendencies. We give them options to what’s going to be available.

“The big thing is doing things quick and to establish that shot. Once you establish the shot, the skill will take over on its own. And that’s a big thing.”