Stars Finally Shine in Third

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.

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

When the Stars finally snapped to life in the third period, they were swift and certain in their execution and defeated the Ducks, 3-2, 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 8:58 of the final period.

Hull, skating into the slot, accepted Mike Modano’s pass from behind the goal line and beat Duck 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 was not headed on net.

However, the puck struck the left skate of retreating Duck defenseman Jamie Pushor and slipped past a surprised Hebert for a 2-1 Dallas lead.

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

“They are the top team in the league and they stick to their system,” Sandstrom said. “We didn’t stay as patient as we wanted to in the third period and it cost us a few mistakes.”

Dallas won’t win any awards for creativity. The Stars did win their league-leading 31st game, improving their all-time record to 17-6-1 against the Ducks.

The Ducks wanted to skate and pass and shoot the puck Friday.

Dallas wanted none of that, and made sure the game was another sorry advertisement for the sport.

“We’re still trying to play our game,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “It’s still a process. We were better tonight than the last time we played them [a 3-1 loss on Jan. 15].

“They are very patient and that’s what it came down to. You have to match their patience with persistence. You can’t get anxious and lose track of the puck.”

Speed?

Thrills?

Excitement?

Better watch a team other than the Stars.

Only care about winning and don’t particularly care how it’s done? Then the Stars are your team.

Certainly, the Stars were in peak form Friday, boring the Ducks into submission.

Referee Kerry Fraser certainly didn’t do anything to improve the flow of the game. Fraser whistled penalty after penalty, which contributed to the sluggish play in the game’s first two periods.

Nine first-period penalties seemed just the thing to inject some offense into the game, and each team scored once on the power play.

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

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

The Ducks seemed stuck in neutral for long stretches Friday.

Part of it was killing off so many penalties, but some of it was their fault. Instead of using their speed effectively, as they did in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Ducks seemed content to play Dallas’ stupor-style of hockey.

Which is to say, the Ducks sat back and waited for a Dallas mistake and tried to pounce.

Bad idea.

Plus, that style of play goes against Hartsburg’s philosophy, which calls for the Ducks to force mistakes with an aggressive forecheck.

But since it worked so well for the Stars, the Ducks seemed perfectly willing to take a crack at it.

Fact is, the Ducks would have been better off trying to push the pace, rather than sitting back.

Hartsburg hoped the Ducks’ speed would counter the Stars’ superior size and experience, which was why he scratched tough guy Stu Grimson for the second consecutive game.

Against the Flyers on Wednesday, the Ducks’ speed forced turnovers that led to scoring chances. Unlike Philadelphia, Dallas doesn’t want to play a wide-open style and give the fans something to cheer.

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* ON THE DEFENSIVE: Brett Hull, one of the greatest scorers in NHL history, loves playing for defensive-minded Dallas. Page 8