Ducks Make Allowances

All Petr Sykora wanted was a decent meal after playing seven periods of playoff hockey Thursday night.

“After eating seven Power Bars, I couldn’t take one more,” Sykora said.

Just in time for a post-midnight snack, Sykora buried a one-timer 48 seconds into the fifth overtime that gave the Mighty Ducks a grueling 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars in the fourth-longest game in NHL history.

A weary group of Duck players slumped before their stalls in the dressing room after playing 140 minutes 48 seconds in winning the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

Mike Leclerc forced a turnover and Adam Oates picked up the puck behind the net. Sykora swooped in from the blue line. His shot whizzed past goalie Marty Turco and kept the Ducks perfect in the playoffs. Five games, five victories.

Sykora and the Ducks then headed off into the Dallas morning for their team meal, at 1:15 a.m. CDT. Their appetites certainly weren’t spoiled.

“You play all that hockey, you have to win the game,” said Duck center Steve Rucchin, whose goal gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead 8:58 into the second period. “But when all is said and done, it is just one game.”

Actually, it was almost three games by the time it was all said and the Stars were finally done.

The Ducks seemed to have won this game a couple of times, as they outworked the Stars, the Western Conference’s top-seeded team, through the first two periods. But the Ducks could not hold a 3-1 lead.

The Ducks were 2:47 from victory when Brenden Morrow deflected the puck halfway to the net and it tumbled just out of the reach of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to tie the score, 3-3.

The Ducks, though, thought they had sweated out another triple-overtime victory, as they did in the first round against Detroit. Rucchin banged in a rebound off teammate Steve Thomas and into the net 14 minutes 41 seconds into the period.

League officials in Toronto phoned the arena and asked that the play be reviewed. Replay officials determined that the net had been knocked off its moorings before the puck crossed the goal line.

“I claim that the puck was in the net when the net went up in the air this much,” Duck General Manager Bryan Murray said, holding his fingers about a quarter of an inch apart. “But I have no say. I’m not allowed to knock on [the replay official’s door] and ask. It’s a $50,000 fine.”

Murray phoned league officials after the third overtime to plead his case.

“It was the gong show on that one,” Thomas said. “It was a tough one to swallow. It was really crucial we stay focused. You don’t want to lose after playing [seven] periods of hockey.”

Sykora made sure the Ducks would not play on. He had not had a playoff goal since scoring for New Jersey in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals against Colorado in 2001, a span of eight games. Sykora, who led the Ducks with 34 goals during the regular season, was smothered by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round.

After going without a shot during regulation, he got off six in the overtimes. The last one he saw coming.

“Mike made the great play to knock the puck free and I saw Adam behind the net,” Sykora said. “I just had to be patient and wait for my chance.”

Both teams were worn out. The Ducks, though, were worn out and had a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 is here Saturday.

“We have to get our heads up and try to regain energy over the next day and a half,” Dallas Coach Dave Tippett said.

Giguere looked more tenacious than polished in stopping 60 of 63 shots, including 40 in the overtimes. Star goalie Marty Turco stopped 50 of 54 shots.

Giguere was scrambling at times, harassed by three Stars. Derian Hatcher, Jason Arnott and Morrow all scored with shots through traffic.

The Stars’ physical nature came at the Ducks from all directions. With the Ducks on the power play, Sykora lost his stick near the Dallas net. Turco gave it back to him, blade first in the jaw, then tripped Sykora and whacked him with his stick.

That gave the Ducks a five-on-three advantage for 1:12. Power plays, though, are hardly an advantage for the Ducks these days. They are scoreless in 17 power plays during the playoffs.

Jason Krog gave the Ducks the lead when he whipped a shot over Turco’s shoulder 13:08 into the game. Rob Niedermayer took advantage of Sergei Zubov’s lackadaisical play to score the Ducks’ second goal.