MIGHTY DUCK NOTEBOOK / ELLIOTT TEAFORD : Sweet Smell of Success Lingers for Van Allen

Days have passed. There was another game played, practices and even a party at Disneyland. But they simply can’t stop talking about Shaun Van Allen’s game-winning goal with five seconds left against Calgary on Monday night.

“It was my greatest thrill ever,” Van Allen said after Friday’s practice.

He can’t stop reliving the moment.

“It’s like I’m a little kid again,” he said. “I still think about it every day. It’s been such a thrill that I haven’t come down yet.”

Clock winding down . . . a Calgary shot deflected . . . the puck flies from Joe Sacco to Peter Douris . . . ahead to Van Allen on a breakaway . . . he shoots and scores.

In the postgame celebration, there were good-natured, but truthful barbs from Coach Ron Wilson about Van Allen’s lack of speed. Even Van Allen chuckled about it.

At the Mighty Ducks’ fund-raising party Thursday night at Disneyland, one night after a 5-2 loss to San Jose, fans flocked to Van Allen.

On a team of promising young talents, Van Allen has provided consistent, sound play this season. He doesn’t make flashy moves or passes like rookie Paul Kariya and he doesn’t have a proven NHL track record like Stephan Lebeau.

Van Allen simply gets results.

With three games left in the regular season, he is the team’s second-leading scorer with 28 points (seven goals and a team-high 21 assists). He trails Kariya, who has 35 points, and is ahead of Lebeau, who has 23.

He’s at last showing the offensive skills that twice led him to 100-point seasons playing for the Edmonton Oilers’ minor-league affiliate at Cape Breton.

Van Allen never got much of a chance to play for Edmonton, signed with the Ducks as a free agent in 1993 and established NHL career bests with eight goals, 25 assists and 80 games played last season. He might have scored more often, but spent half the season centering a line with tough guys Todd Ewen and Stu Grimson.

This season, he has played on the Ducks’ top-producing lines, first with Kariya and Lebeau and more recently with Douris and Sacco.

“What he’s doing now is what he continuously did in the minors,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “The coaches were saying the other day, ‘What if he was a step faster?’ I said, ‘If he was a step faster we wouldn’t have him. He’d be in Edmonton.’ ”

Wilson knew from the start that Van Allen was someone to count on in the corners and along the boards--a tough checker but a bit slow.

“He’s meant a lot to our team,” Wilson said. “From beginning to end, he’s been one of our most consistent players. This year has been his best overall. But the reason he hasn’t scored like he did in the minors is because of his deficiencies as a skater.”

Van Allen said he has always been more of a playmaker than goal scorer and doesn’t often dwell on his statistics or his speed.

“I don’t think I’m that slow of a skater,” he said. “I’m always looking to pass to someone else, so that slows me down. As long as you get the job done it doesn’t matter how fast you go.

“In that situation (Monday), the adrenaline is flowing. You’re always going to be faster when there’s a chance for a breakaway. Plus, you’re fighting the clock.”

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Golf course bound? The Ducks’ playoff chances took a direct hit with a 2-2 tie against the Kings Sunday and a 5-2 loss to San Jose Wednesday.

The Ducks admit the odds are long, but aren’t ready to trade their hockey sticks for golf clubs just yet.

“I think if we felt like, ‘Oh, we really blew it,’ it would be one thing,” Douris said. “(But) there’s no shame in anything we’ve done this year. Hopefully, we’ll squeeze in there. There’s still three games left and we’re right there. There’s a certain amount of success in that.”

Said Wilson: “The teams we hoped would help us--St. Louis and Detroit--haven’t come through. What we learned is we have to take care of our own business. Plain and simple we have to win three games and keep our fingers crossed.”

Said Van Allen: “Look at the standings. The other contending teams (the Kings, Edmonton, San Jose and Winnipeg) haven’t won two or three games in a row all year.”

The Ducks desperately need victories over the Kings Sunday, St. Louis Monday and Toronto Wednesday to stay in contention.

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Stats of the week: The Ducks have won two games in a row only twice this season and have yet to win three in a row. They failed to score more than two goals in four of the past five games and are 1-3-1.

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Walt Kyle, who coached the San Diego Gulls in the International Hockey League this past season, will coach the Ducks’ new affiliate in the American Hockey League, perhaps in Baltimore.

The Ducks decided against keeping their top minor league team in the IHL because the AHL is thought to be a better developmental league.

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The Ducks have signed free-agent defenseman Brian Corcoran, 23, who played college hockey at Massachusetts. Corcoran, 6 feet 2, 247 pounds, had three goals, three assists and 40 penalty minutes in 20 games. In Division I-AA football, he was an All-American defensive end.

* Times Staff Writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this story.