Ducks Try to Dull the Edginess

Lines have been drawn and, some have said, crossed.

The longer the Western Conference semifinal series between the Ducks and Dallas Stars goes, the more edgy it seems to get. The Stars already have extended the best-of-seven series by one game, staving off elimination with a rough-and-tumble performance Saturday.

The Stars got rough; the Ducks tumbled.

Consequences remain the same tonight in a 7:30 game at the Arrowhead Pond. The Stars are one loss from elimination, trailing, 3-2, in the series. The Ducks are a loss from a Game 7 in Dallas on Wednesday.

The stakes, though, have been raised a notch.

“We have to play like this is the last game of our lives,” Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei said. “That’s how we’re thinking.”

There was a what-me-worry? attitude emanating from the Ducks on Sunday. The usual group of players could be found frolicking in the hall, kicking a soccer ball. Coach Mike Babcock was all smiles. Center Adam Oates scooted out the door quickly.

Another day in the salt mines ... on the surface.

Oates paused to map out the Ducks’ position: “We talked about how Dallas played that last game [in a team meeting]. We have to try not to get caught up in that and play our speed game.”

The Ducks were caught flat-footed -- then bowled over -- in the Stars’ 4-1 victory Saturday. The Stars’ physical play knocked the Ducks off their game, and, at times, goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere off his feet.

That brought an angry reaction from Duck General Manager Bryan Murray, who was miffed at comments made by Dallas General Manager Doug Armstrong that game officials should “respect [Star center] Mike Modano as much as they do Paul Kariya” and went on to say that “liberties” have been taken.

Yes they have, Murray said Sunday, and pointed the finger right back.

“Jiggy was hit six times, a couple by Mike Modano,” Murray said. “So let’s be fair. We’re being told they are going to protect the goalies. Let’s do it.

“They said they would talk to players when something like that happens, and they have done that. But if it’s a penalty, call it. If one team comes out and runs the other team ridiculously, like with what happened the other day, then call the penalties.”

The Stars were called for six penalties, one on winger Claude Lemieux for goalie interference, and the Ducks two. But the physical play was all by the Stars. That resulted in several heated and often physical exchanges in front of the net after the whistle had been blown.

“That just shows they are giving me respect,” Giguere said. “It’s part of the game. They are trying to knock me off my game. I’m not going to do anything with it. I’m not going to fight anyone.”

That may be the job of others.

“If they run our goalie, we have to protect him,” Salei said. “But I think it’s the referees who can take care of that as well.”

Giguere was pulled from the game after two periods, mostly for his protection, Babcock said. That has been a motivating factor before.

“No matter why you get pulled, you always want to come back the next game and make up for that,” Giguere said. “The best players come out in a Game 6 or 7. This will be fun.”

He can expect more of the same from the Stars.

“It’s not about points or goals, it’s about creating momentum and establishing how our team needs to play,” Lemieux said after Saturday’s game. “These guys have been going well and they have played a certain way. They play a passive game and they don’t get caught out of position. You have to force that to change.”

The “force” was what angered Murray.

“Right from the start, one of our defensemen got flattened and didn’t have the puck,” Murray said. “Right then Dallas knew what they could get away with. There’s a line and they went over the line.”

Don’t expect any retreating tonight.

“We have a big team, we have a lot of guys who can use their body,” Star center Jason Arnott said after Saturday’s game.

But the Ducks are ready to respond to the physical play.

“We have to win some faceoffs and get the puck into their zone,” Kariya said. “We have to get our forechecking and skating game working for us.”

As for Armstrong’s comments and the Stars’ physical play, “I’m not responding to any of that,” Babcock said. “We have to play our game. It’s about winning the game. You don’t get any points for finishing with the most checks.”