Modano set to become the point man

Just as he used to do when they were on opposite sides of the ice, Phil Housley sees Mike Modano coming his way and knows there is little he can do to stop him.

Only this sweeping pass by Modano will occur in the record books as the greatest scoring American-born hockey player.

“Records are made to be broken,” Housley said. “It’s going to be great to see Mike Modano achieve that. He’s a great player with great skills but when it comes down to it, he’s a classy guy and he deserves this.

“I was just happy to have it for eight years.”

As Modano leads the Dallas Stars into Staples Center tonight against the Kings, he finds himself needing only five points to surpass Housley’s total of 1,232 set over a distinguished 21-year NHL career as a defenseman with nine teams.

It is destined to happen for Modano, given that he has averaged 72 points over his 17 seasons. Yet, like many other athletes who close in on milestones, Modano, a center, has been feeling the pressure. He has only one goal and one assist in his first eight games.

“Now that it’s there and kind of staring at me, sometimes you wake up and it’s hard to sleep when you’re in this situation and it’s so close,” Modano said. “It’s there. You go out there and try to get it every night. And you try to enjoy the moment and embrace it. But, yeah, there’s some pressure to get it done and move on from there.”

Already the leading American goal scorer with 508, Modano also has a 1999 Stanley Cup championship and a 2002 Olympic silver medal on his resume. He has been selected to the NHL All-Star team eight times.

“He’s one of those players you watch and you hope good things for, even though he’s an opponent,” Kings Coach Marc Crawford said. “He’s like Joe Sakic in that vein, and like Steve Yzerman, you can’t help but have admiration about those guys.”

Consistency is Modano’s calling card. Pat LaFontaine and Joe Mullen, whom he passed on the goals list, are the only other American-born players with nine 30-goal seasons. Modano also has 12 seasons where he has at least 75 points. That statistic is a point of pride.

“That was one of my real goals,” he said. “I wanted to consistently be that guy year in and year out and not have too many drop-offs. In 18 years, there’s maybe been one or two years there where numbers kind of didn’t exceed the expectations.”

Nearly two decades after he made his debut with the Minnesota North Stars at 18, Modano may have more mileage on his 37-year-old legs, but his opponents still see a player who can cut through the neutral zone with the best of them.

“He can do things at a very, very high skill level at a high rate of speed,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said. “He’s a dynamic player. Still is.”

The only player remaining from the original North Stars, Modano became the second American to be picked No. 1 overall in 1988. If not for hockey executive Jack Ferreira, Modano may never have found Dallas.

Ferreira, now special assistant to the general manager for the Kings, was hired as Minnesota’s general manager shortly before the 1988 draft and recently recalled a discussion with then-owner Gordon Gund that centered on who to pick: Modano or Trevor Linden.

“I had just gotten the job the night before,” Ferreira said. “[Gordon] said, ‘It’s your team. Who do we take first?’ I was stunned. I said, ‘Take Modano. He’s the guy.’ ”

Not only would Modano become the face of the franchise but the photogenic star would also achieve celebrity status.

Before Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Modano had been the city’s most eligible bachelor -- until he married actress-dancer Willa Ford over the summer.

“There’s nobody in here that could possibly understand what he really endures as far as the demands on his time and his energy to help promote things like us, the franchise and USA Hockey,” Stars goalie Marty Turco said. “Everyone wants a piece of the guy.”

Even though he took some hits for his criticism of USA Hockey officials after a poor showing at the 2006 Olympics, Modano is still valued by the organization.

“His picture is on the bedroom wall of many kids that play hockey,” said David Ogrean, USA Hockey’s executive director. “I think he’s comfortable in that role. Many of the things he does are God-given abilities, but many others are things he’s embraced and worked at.

“I think he carries himself in a way that we would want any athlete to emulate.”

Modano said he realized early on that he had to accept the responsibility of being in the limelight.

“You have a big impact on kids, you have a big impact on people who are looking for direction growing up,” he said. “I never thought that was a negative. If you could have an impact in someone’s life, that’s not that bad of a thing.”

Now Modano is on the brink of history.

“You knew he was going to develop into something extraordinary,” Housley said. “You just saw it in him.”

Times staff writer Lisa Dillman contributed to this report.

eric.stephens@latimes.com