Streak Broken, Refrain Isnât
This is it. The game the Mighty Ducks have been waiting to play.
This is -- together now, in the key of G -- the most important game of the season.
Coach Mike Babcock said so ... over and over and over again. Ah, but this time, that rap has soul.
Look deep into his eyes ...
âEvery night is the most important game,â Babcock said repeatedly Tuesday.
... you are getting sleepy ...
The Ducks play the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Arrowhead Pond, the same Stars who ended the Ducksâ six-game playoff winning streak.
... important ...
A Duck victory sends this movable feast back to Dallas with the Ducks leading the best-of-seven series, 3-1. A loss has them as the entree, with the series tied.
... important ...
No other game will be as important as this one ... at least in the next 24 hours.
âBabs came into the dressing room before the first game of the season and goes, âBoys, this is the most important game of the season,â â Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. âWe were all looking at each other like, âWhat?â Thatâs how it has been every game, all season. That becomes a part of you after a while. That becomes your mental edge. We really bought into that after Christmas. We knew it had to be that way if we wanted to make the playoffs.â
Deprogramming is out of the question at this point. The Ducks need that single-mindedness, even more so after Mondayâs disappointing 2-1 loss.
The Stars went into that game talking about being desperate. They came out of it feeling as if they have been down this road before.
âThat win put us in the same position as we were in [in the first round] against Edmonton,â Dallas Coach Dave Tippett said. âWeâre down, 2-1, and facing a critical game in Game 4.â
So what happens when each team is playing its most important game of the season?
Fear.
âBeing scared is a great thing,â Babcock said. âYou have a little bit of fear and it can really get you going.
âWe were too loose [Monday]. We didnât have that competitiveness, the willingness to climb over the other guy to get the puck.â
Of course, the Ducks have dealt with adversity in the playoffs already this season. They dealt with it by winning. Monday, they didnât.
âWe could have been up 3-0 instead of 2-1,â right wing Steve Thomas said. âNow we have to play a whole lot better. Maybe we were thinking we were the catâs [meow]. We were a little big for our britches. That game brought us down to earth.â
The victory gave the Stars a bouncier step. âUnder Pressure,â by David Bowie and Queen, blared from their dressing room Tuesday, loud enough to be heard down the hall in the Ducksâ room.
âWe definitely donât want to go back to Dallas down, 3-1, just like we didnât want to go down, 3-0,â Star center Jason Arnott said. âWe had some zip in that game. We played desperate [Monday] night. We need to again.â
The Stars went into Mondayâs game talking not only about bursting the Ducksâ bubble, but about blowing a little smoke as well, at least in Duck eyes.
Center Mike Modano complained about the officiating, uttering the now well-traveled quote, âOur arms look like weâre heroin addicts from the slashes and hooks.â
Modano, who was booed by Duck fans, said he was much happier with Mondayâs officiating.
Duck General Manager Bryan Murray was less enthralled, saying that Modanoâs comments had a not-so-subtle message. He put his feelings to pen, on the notepad he doodles on during games.
âUp in the right-hand corner on my pad I wrote, â[Complaining] does pay off,â â Murray said.
âThey were more physical than we were and the penalties, for whatever reason, were even.â
The Stars also were more active Monday, and goalie Marty Turco made the big saves ... at least a few more than Giguere, anyway. The Ducks had to try to come from behind a second consecutive game, and this time, they were not up to the task.
âEverything is magnified in the playoffs,â Duck captain Paul Kariya said. âYou lose a game, itâs big. If you win one, itâs big. But even the small things are magnified.â
And thatâs what makes tonightâs game important.
âDo we want to be up, 3-1, or go back to Dallas, 2-2?â Giguere said. âItâs up to us to make that decision. This game is huge.â
Merely huge?
Giguere smiled and said, âItâs the most important game of the season.â
Go beyond the scoreboard
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