Stars Hope They’re Not Duck-Struck

Start to work on the bleachers for fans.

Block off some streets in the Big D.

Get some city hall flunky to polish up the key to the city.

The Dallas Stars only need to go through the motions.

Colorado? Avalanche players are waiting for golf courses around Denver to thaw so they can arrange some tee times.

Detroit? The Red Wings are still red-faced ... four and out?

Might as well start the engraving on the Stanley Cup now. Get the Stars’ roster out. Jason Arnott, J-a-s-o-n ...

The Eastern Conference champion? As long as it isn’t New Jersey, this is no sweat. The Western Conference champion has won seven of the last nine finals, with only the Devils taking the Cup east in that time.

Nothing makes the Stars more nervous than such talk.

They face the Mighty Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals tonight, and there has been quite a bit of yakking from TV pundits that the way has been cleared for the Stars to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

Colorado, the third-seeded team in the West, was ousted by Minnesota on Tuesday. The Ducks long ago swept second-seeded Detroit. So the top-seeded Stars are having their coronation planned.

“It is crazy to have Dallas and Colorado out of the playoffs,” Star right wing Scott Young said. “I heard on TV that we benefited from that. That’s a trap people fall into. Look at this. What has happened so far [in the playoffs] just shows that anyone can beat anyone. To look at it any other way, well, that’s just not smart.”

And the Stars didn’t just roll off the hockey turnip truck.

“What happened to Colorado and Detroit shows you better respect everybody,” Young said.

The Ducks come to town with a quiet, we-know-we-belong-here aura.

The opinion east of the Mississippi River about Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere has changed from “who is this guy?” to “who is that guy?” since he smothered the Red Wings.

The Ducks had 10 goals against the Red Wings, five by their third line. They won four one-goal games, two in overtime.

That brings respectful comments from the Stars. They even tried to Texas two-step around Claude Lemieux’s accusations Monday that Giguere’s pads are not legal

“They beat Detroit in four games,” Arnott said. “There was a reason that happened. They are a good team.”

That is having a good time.

“Our confidence level has been raised,” Duck right wing Steve Thomas said. “Our fun level has gone up a notch too. The further you go in the playoffs, the intensity is greater, the games are tougher and fatigue sets in. But it is a lot more fun too. I’m having a blast.”

The Ducks have had good times for seven days, since they evicted the defending champion Red Wings. The Stars are coming off a rugged six-game series against Edmonton, where they trailed, 2-1, before winning the last three games.

The Stars also are a more physical team, and the expectation is they will express that at every opportunity.

The calm disposition that served Giguere so well during the Detroit series is balanced at the other end of the ice by Marty Turco’s intensity. Turco, who had an NHL record 1.72 goals-against average during the regular season, is capable of handling the puck and charging opponents with his stick.

“They have different styles, but the same results,” Dallas Coach Dave Tippett said. “Marty plays the puck more and is a more athletic goaltender. Giguere is big in net. We have to expect he is going to be at his best because he was at his best four straight games against Detroit.”

And the Stars are well aware of what the Ducks did to the Red Wings.

Said Young: “The Ducks beat Detroit. Colorado is out of the playoffs. We can’t be thinking that makes this easier for us.”