Stars Once Again Are Out of Reach

Why have the Dallas Stars, who defeated the Mighty Ducks for the 10th time in 11 games, been so successful against Anaheim?

“I think we both play similar systems,” Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “But I think we’re able to control the puck down low against this team [the Ducks] better than against a lot of teams.”

The Ducks’ lack of physical defensemen, who could control the Stars’ forwards, seems to hurt. But Duck Coach Ron Wilson said it’s impossible to compare past results because of the numerous roster changes to both teams.

“We’ve got a different team,” Wilson said. “They’ve got a different team. The only thing that’s the same are the crests on the jerseys. I don’t think you can read anything into that.”

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Winger Valeri Karpov, on the injured reserve list because of a strained neck, could be ready to practice later this week. Karpov has been skating on his own since last week. . . . Not in the Duck lineup: Karpov, Warren Rychel (serving a one-game suspension), Nikolai Tsulygin (coach’s decision) and Jeremy Stevenson (sprained right ankle). Ted Drury replaced Rychel and Ruslan Salei replaced Tsulygin. Salei recorded his first NHL point, assisting on Alex Hicks’ second-period goal. . . . Dallas winger Pat Verbeek, signed as a free agent to a three-year deal worth $9 million in the off-season, played in his 1,000th NHL game. Verbeek, the 119th NHL player to reach the 1,000-game milestone, assisted on Joe Nieuwendyk’s second-period goal.