Ducks, Stars Tie in Opener That Might Never Be Played

The NHL schedule says the Mighty Ducks and Dallas Stars will open the season against each other next Saturday in Dallas, but they might not come any closer to their scheduled meeting than Friday night’s exhibition before 16,533 at The Pond, a 4-4 tie that ended with a union-solidarity handshake.

The on-time start of the season is so much in doubt that Anaheim club officials have canceled the team’s Dallas hotel reservations to avoid risking their deposit, although Tony Tavares, club president, says the team has a backup plan in case the games begin as scheduled. He said he won’t make a decision on plane tickets until next week.

Should the start of the season be postponed, it will delay the much-anticipated debut of rookie Paul Kariya, who scored his second short-handed breakaway goal of the preseason Friday, beating goalie Andy Moog.

Kariya, 19, has eight points in six exhibitions and has earned a place on the team’s first line, the first power-play unit and the first penalty-killing unit as well.

“When you have an offensive talent like Paul, it intimidates the other team’s power play,” Coach Ron Wilson said.

“They’re always worried about making a mistake and seeing it end up in the other net. It’s the same with Wayne Gretzky killing penalties, or Mike Modano.”

Modano had one goal and two assists for Dallas, and Stephan Lebeau had a goal and an assist for the Ducks.