Ducks Flying South at Worst Possible Time

DALLAS — The Mighty Ducks got whomped again Wednesday. So what else is new?

Their stumbling five-game trek across the country ended with a dispiriting, 5-1, loss against the NHL-leading Dallas Stars, who apparently have found something to play for while waiting for the Stanley Cup playoffs to begin later this month.

After losing weekend games to the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues, the Stars regained their form against the faltering Ducks. A four-goal second period turned a tight-checking game into a runaway.

Now, the Ducks must undergo a similar transformation. They have only five regular-season games in which to build momentum and gain confidence for the opening round of the playoffs.

The Ducks’ aggressive, speedy style of play was sadly lacking Wednesday for the fourth time in five games. Was it any wonder the Ducks finished their trip 1-3-1?

What’s worse, the Ducks returned home early this morning tied with the Blues for fifth place in the Western Conference standings. Each team is 34-31-12. Each has five games left, including one against each other Wednesday at the Arrowhead Pond.

At game’s end, Coach Craig Hartsburg declined to speak to reporters for the first time this season. Pierre Gauthier, team president/general manager, also refused comment.

In the end, captain Paul Kariya and right wing Teemu Selanne spoke about the suddenly sorry state of the Ducks.

“It was an awful road trip,” Kariya said. “We played one good game and our heads were in the clouds the rest of the time.”

Why? How did the Ducks go off the rails so quickly? Wasn’t it only a month ago that they had won a franchise-record seven consecutive games?

Clinching a playoff berth last Friday with a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers has had a great deal to do with the Ducks’ recent lackluster play, according to Kariya.

“We lost our desperation when we clinched against New York,” he said. “Now, we’ve got to get it back. We want that fifth spot, but I don’t think our team wants it bad enough right now.”

The first step to recovering their AWOL game is acknowledging their failings, according to Selanne.

“I can’t really say anybody has played well,” Selanne said. “We have to get realistic. We have to be honest and face it. . . . If we keep playing like this we shouldn’t even be in the playoffs.”

Repairing their game by Friday night’s 7:30 faceoff against the seventh-place San Jose Sharks, who are a mere three points behind the Ducks and Blues, is another matter.

“We’ve got to stay positive and stick together,” Selanne said. “We’re going through some tough times, but we can get through this. The sun is going to come up tomorrow.”

Wednesday night, the teams played it fairly close in the first period. Brett Hull scored the first of his two goals for Dallas at the 11:50 mark. Kariya countered while the Ducks were on a power play at 14:18.

Dallas, 11-1-1 against the Ducks at Reunion Arena, then took control.

Hull scored again 23 seconds into the second period. Mike Keane, Guy Carbonneau and Pat Verbeek added goals for the Stars shortly thereafter.

Apart from attempting to rattle Dallas goalie Ed Belfour by crashing into him, the Ducks put up little in the way of a fight.

As Jeff Nielsen had in the first period, Stu Grimson collided with Belfour, igniting a brief second-period scrum.

Cooler heads prevailed and there was no repeat of the March 13, 1998, brawl between the teams that was ignited when Craig Ludwig slammed Selanne into the glass. The Ducks stayed out of Belfour’s crease the rest of the way and the Stars seemed content to skate and pass the puck.

Wednesday’s game simply had the look and feel of the Ducks’ 5-1 victory March 26 over the Stars at Anaheim. The road-weary Stars looked slow and tired that night, just as the road-weary Ducks looked slow and tired Wednesday.

“We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Selanne said. “We have to stick together. We have to turn this around.

“Soon.”

UNEASY KING: Calling it a tough year, Coach Larry Robinson said he may step down. Page 9

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: Philadelphia doesn’t expect Eric Lindros to return this season, even for the playoffs. Page 9