Duck Playoff Drive Sticks in Neutral

The Dallas Stars have something the Mighty Ducks say they want--the final Western Conference playoff spot.

It was time for the Ducks to give it their best shot Friday night, but they didn’t muster many good ones in a 2-0 loss to Dallas in front of 17,174 at The Pond.

The Dallas defense bottled up the Duck offense and goalie Andy Moog made 18 saves, recording his first shutout of the season and 20th of his career.

Before the game, the standings looked tantalizing to the Ducks.

Win, and they would be only two points behind the Stars for the final playoff spot.

But they didn’t win, and while they were losing, San Jose and Winnipeg were winning, breaking the three-way tie for 10th place to leave the Ducks alone in last again, six points behind Dallas.

“We recognized the importance of this game, certainly,” said defenseman Randy Ladouceur. “Sure, it was a disappointment, no doubt about that. If we had gotten the win, it would have put us in the thick of things. But there’s no reason we can’t make the playoffs. . . . We all believe in this room that we can make the playoffs.”

Dallas entered the game clinging to the final Western Conference playoff spot and still regrouping after two trade-deadline deals earlier in the day.

Russ Courtnall went to Vancouver for wingers Greg Adams and Dan Kesa. Adams and Kesa didn’t join the team in time for the game. The Stars also traded tough winger Alan May sending him to Calgary for a draft pick.

The game was scoreless until the Stars managed two second-period goals. Ex-King Mike Donnelly scored the only goal Dallas needed when he picked up a rebound and spun a shot from the slot past Duck goalie Guy Hebert at 10:50.

It was Donnelly’s 11th goal of the season--and his 10th in 23 games since the Kings gave him to the Stars for a fourth-round draft pick on Feb. 17.

Dallas rookie Todd Harvey made the lead 2-0 when he found a rebound and angled a shot that eluded Hebert’s glove about hip-high at 14:31.

Still, the Ducks had two prime opportunities to come back when they went on two power plays early in the third period, but they didn’t manage a shot on one and only three on the other. The addition of forward Mike Sillinger and defenseman Jason York after trading Stu Grimson to Detroit on Tuesday hasn’t done anything to liven the NHL’s worst power play yet. If anything, it looked more unsettled.

“That was a tough one to let slip by,” said York, who is still getting acclimated to the new team. “It’s a real tough one for us to lose. It was a big game, but it’s not the end.”

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Duck Notes

A woman in Oakland County, Mich., has filed a paternity suit against Duck defenseman Bobby Dollas, seeking to force him to pay for prenatal care and child support, the Associated Press reported. Chelsea Nicole Godman filed the suit Dec. 14. Court papers filed on Dollas’ behalf in February denied that he is the father, and Dollas declined comment as he arrived for Friday’s game. “I can’t say anything,” he said. Dollas played for the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons ending in 1993. A spokesman for the Mighty Ducks called the suit “a personal matter.”. . . Dallas defenseman Doug Zmolek was taken to Anaheim Memorial Hospital for X-rays after being hit in the right knee by the puck when he blocked a shot during the first period. . . . Left wing Todd Krygier returned to the Duck lineup after missing three games with a groin strain but right wing Todd Ewen missed his third in a row because of stitches in his left palm. Forward Patrik Carnback and defensemen Oleg Tverdovsky and Tom Kurvers were healthy scratches.