Elusive Is the Word for Ducks

Trying to figure out travel plans for the Mighty Ducks remained a tangled set of possibilities.

The only thing certain was they flew home from Dallas late Wednesday, after letting a one-goal lead get away in a 2-1 loss to the Stars.

Same time next week, fellas? Possibly.

The Ducks could be back in the American Airlines Center, before another loud crowd like the 18,532 in attendance Wednesday. Or they could be in Vancouver by the sea ... or in Detroit among the rubble

“All I know is this beats sitting around this weekend trying to figure out what to do with your off-season,” Coach Mike Babcock said.

Instead, the Ducks will be sitting around waiting to see which team to prepare for. They end their season Friday against Colorado, then will have to wait until Sunday night for the rest of the NHL to finish.

“Yeah, it would be nice to know and start getting ready,” center Steve Rucchin said. “Regular-season games aren’t going to mean anything once the playoffs get started. But we know we can play with teams like Detroit, Vancouver, Dallas, Colorado.”

As a trial run, Dallas didn’t work out too well Wednesday.

The Stars, currently atop the Western Conference, scored two goals in a four-minute span. Star goalie Marty Turco stopped 26 of 27 shots, turning away five quality shots in the final four minutes when the Ducks pressed for the tie.

That left the Ducks, playing their second game in as many nights, treating the loss less like a litmus test for a playoff matchup.

Still, they have a 1-3-1 record against the Stars and have faired better against the other possibilities. The Ducks are 1-2-0-1 against Detroit, 1-1-2 against Vancouver and 3-0 against Colorado.

“All these regular season games don’t mean anything once the playoffs start,” Babcock said. “We have confidence in what we are able to do.”

The Ducks have been far from their best the last two nights, although they managed a 2-1 overtime victory over Nashville on Tuesday. They were better against the Stars, with Martin Gerber performing well above the “backup goalie” label he carries.

“We’re getting ready in our minds, we just don’t know who we’re getting ready for,” said defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, whose power-play goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second period. “It’s important to play well going into the playoffs.”

Gerber stopped 29 of 31 shots. He took a shutout into the third period, although it was aided by a quick whistle from Paul Stewart, who blew play dead just before Jason Arnott chipped in a rebound that would have tied the score.

The scales were balanced in the third period, after the Ducks’ Rob Niedermayer was called for high sticking. Arnott then redirected a Sergei Zubov shot to tie the score 4:21 into the period.

“I went to hit the guy and he ducks his head and I get called for high sticking?” Niedermayer said. “My stick didn’t go above my chest. I thought high sticking was when you had your stick above your shoulder.”

Star defenseman Derian Hatcher salted that wound by firing in a shot that beat Gerber four minutes later to give the Stars a 2-1 lead.