Stars Thwart Ducks’ Drive for the Playoffs

Once or twice a year, the elements all come together for a perfect moment. The planets align, and something special happens on the ice.

Once or twice a year, Stu Grimson scores a goal.

Grimson, the 6-foot-5 Mighty Duck enforcer, broke the longest streak without a goal in the NHL this season when he scored his first goal at 19:16 of the second period of a 4-3 loss to Dallas at Reunion Arena Tuesday night.

But the playoff hopes of Grimson and his teammates slipped a little further into the distance as they fell six points back with 11 games left after San Jose tied Pittsburgh.

“It was all for naught,” Grimson said. “It doesn’t really feel that thrilling when it doesn’t count for much. It’s a lot better when you can assist on a winning cause. It takes the edge off it. I really thought it might have been the lift we needed, but it turned out it wasn’t.”

The goal--only the fourth of Grimson’s 242-game career--set off a celebration as Grimson skated in front of the bench, high-fiving with teammates.

“It was a beaut,” Coach Ron Wilson said, after Patrik Carnback put a pretty pass on Grimson’s stick on the right side of the net, and Grimson handled it deftly at his feet to beat goalie Darcy Wakaluk.

Grimson hadn’t scored since Dec. 31, 1992, a stretch of 106 games without a goal. That is not the longest streak in the NHL--Philadelphia’s Rob Zettler, for one, hasn’t scored in at least 125 after not scoring all last season.

But Grimson’s streak this season was distinguished by how many games he has played without scoring a goal, showing the team appreciates his work enough to put him out there almost every night. The goal came in his 71st game. Only eight skaters who have appeared in at least 50 games haven’t scored. Only two who have played at least 65 games--Dallas’ Doug Zmolek (70) and Ottawa’s Gord Dineen (68)--haven’t scored.

Dallas took a 3-1 lead with the help of Mike Modano’s 43rd and 44th goals--both on power plays--but Grimson’s goal cut it to one just before the end of the second period.

But the spark he hoped for didn’t come. Derian Hatcher made it 4-2 at 2:23 of the third, and the Ducks’ third-period comeback was stopped short.

They went on the power play with 2:12 remaining when Hatcher was called for holding, but they didn’t capitalize until it was too late. With the Ducks using an extra attacker in the final 1:18, Carnback scored off a rebound with 7.9 seconds left.

“I didn’t know how much time was left, but when I saw seven seconds, I understood it was over,” Carnback said.

The Ducks’ goaltending situation, seemingly resolved when Ron Tugnutt was traded to Montreal last month, has changed again. Guy Hebert’s brief hold on No. 1 is over.

Tugnutt’s replacement, Mikhail Shtalenkov, has been sharp since arriving and has started the past three games. Wilson says he’s essentially back to alternating, with Hebert set for the next game, though a standout performance can earn a goalie another start.

“Guy’s worked hard in practice lately and I think he’s gained some respect for Mikhail that might have been lacking,” Wilson said. “Mikhail played well again. There’s nothing wrong with having two good goalies.”

There’s nothing wrong with having a tough guy who can knock in the very occasional goal, either.

“Obviously scoring this late in the season, there were a lot of nights where it was starting to get kind of frustrating,” said Grimson, who has contributed five assists for a career-high six points. “The opportunity has been there. I’ve had some near-misses, so you have to be encouraged by that. I just don’t want to put myself in the position psychologically now where it’s, ‘OK, the pressure’s off, and I can float.’ I’d like to make that kind of contribution every night.”

Ducks Notes

Left wing Troy Loney will join the team in Boston today after remaining in Anaheim with his wife, Aafke, for the birth of their son, Clint Teagan, on Monday. . . . About $400,000 was raised at Fan Fair, a team fund raiser for the Disney GOALS youth hockey program.