Ducks Get Star Treatment

The Dallas Stars spent the better part of two periods putting the Mighty Ducks and 16,230 fans into a deep sleep Friday night at the Arrowhead Pond.

That’s nothing new. It’s standard operating procedure for the NHL’s dullest, most impossibly patient team.

When the Stars snapped to life in the third period, they were swift and certain in their execution, defeating the Ducks, 3-2, and ending Anaheim’s four-game winning streak.

Swift and certain described Brett Hull’s 20th goal of the season, which gave the Stars a 3-1 lead at 8:56 of the final period. Hull, skating into the slot, accepted Mike Modano’s pass from behind the goal line and beat goalie Guy Hebert with a quick shot.

Lucky was the only way possible to explain Jamie Langenbrunner’s go-ahead goal for Dallas at 7:26 of the third period. Langenbrunner, racing down the right wing, simply shot the puck toward the front of the net.

There was no teammate in sight and the puck seemed headed harmlessly into the left corner. However, the puck struck the left skate of retreating Duck defenseman Jamie Pushor and slid past a surprised Hebert for a 2-1 Dallas lead.

“It’s a lucky bounce for them, but we turned the puck over in the neutral zone, where we gave them the break to attack our net,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said of Langenbrunner’s goal.

“It seems against those guys, you make a mistake and it costs you. You have to be patient. They’re so smart and they’re a veteran team. That’s something we have to work on.”

Both third-period goals were crucial for Dallas because Tomas Sandstrom’s goal with Hebert on the bench in favor of a sixth skater in the final minute cut the Stars’ lead to 3-2.

The Ducks hoped to skate and pass and shoot the puck Friday, but managed only about 10 minutes of that in the first period before the Stars gained control and put on another clinical display of how to bore an opponent into submission.

Dallas right wing Jere Lehtinen deflected a point shot by defenseman Darryl Sydor past Hebert at 13:07 of the first period, giving Dallas a 1-0 lead.

Teemu Selanne countered with a blistering slap shot that sailed over Dallas goalie Ed Belfour’s left shoulder for a power-play goal at 19:09 of the first period.

The Stars then ignited a festival of snores in the second period.

The Ducks handled it as well as could be expected, given their desire to duplicate the up-tempo style that worked so effectively in defeating the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4, Wednesday.

Against the Western Conference-leading Stars, they lost their patience in the pivotal third period and lost for the first time in five games.

“We were trying to play our game,” Hartsburg said. “We’re still learning. It’s a process. We were better tonight than the last time we played them [a 3-1 loss Jan. 15 at the Pond]. They’re very patient and that’s what it came down to tonight. You have to match their patience with persistence.”

The Ducks did it only for so long, however.