The Ducks are about out of chances to remain in the playoff picture after taking their fifth defeat in the last seven games but they're hoping to avoid a more serious loss on the ice.
Reigning NHL most valuable player Corey Perry was helped off the ice by trainer Tim Clark midway through the second period of their 2-0 loss to Dallas and played very little the rest of the way due to an apparent injury to his right shoulder.
Perry was in obvious pain on the bench and eventually went to the locker room before he tried to return to the first period. The winger could only play another two shifts as he would call it a night.
"He's got a lot of character," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "A lot of gumption and a lot of everything else that's positive. Tried to go twice and just couldn't go."
The injury occurred when Perry was ridden into the boards by Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas as he lost his balance. Boudreau said that an X-ray on Perry's shoulder was negative and that he is day to day.
Perry, whose team-leading 34 goals are tied for third in the league, played in his 272nd consecutive game.
"Now I guess it's just a pain issue," Boudreau said. "He's a very big cog obviously."
Boudreau was plenty hot about the hit by Robidas, saying that the NHL has to review it for possible supplementary discipline. Robidas was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for boarding but the coach wanted a five-minute major.
"If the (Perry) penalty wasn't a five-minute penalty, I don't know what is," Boudreau said. "He's in the most vulnerable position. Head first going into the boards and he's getting a shove.
"Whether it's a little shove or a big shove, it's a shove of a defenseless person into the boards. I don't know how many times I've heard that. And you put your best player out in a game we had to win."
NOTES, QUOTES
Calls don't go Ducks way
--The Ducks were frustrated with the work of officials Stephane Auger and Dan O'Halloran as three consecutive penalties in the second period particularly got under their skin. Sheldon Brookbank was called for roughing as he battled with Dallas captain Brenden Morrow in front of the Ducks' net. Francois Beauchemin was whistled for hooking the Stars' Loui Eriksson. Morrow would cash in with a power-play goal. And then Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf was called for goalie interference on the Stars' Kari Lehtonen, nudging into him as he was battling for position with Dallas forward Adam Burish. "If that penalty on Lehtonen by Getzlaf was a penalty, I'll be a monkey's uncle," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Even the Brookbank penalty, there was two guys battling. Why do they choose our guy? Both equally doing the same thing. I could go on and on. I said it in L.A. and I'm now sounding like a whining little crier. But it's not good enough."
--The Ducks have only 22 goals from their defensemen this season and part of the reason is the sharp drop-off by the offensive-minded Lubomir Visnovsky. Visnovsky had 18 goals by himself last season as he led the NHL in defensemen scoring with 68 points but he's got just five in 56 games thus far. More importantly, the veteran has gone without a point for the last 14 contests and Boudreau said he's not seeing the player who often joined the forwards as a fourth scoring option. "He's not getting his shot. From what I remember of him, he's got a great shot from the point and was shooting an awful lot. We've encouraged him to do it. ... That's what he has to do. He's just got to shoot the puck. That's his forte. That's why he got (18) goals or something last year."
--Center Ryan O'Marra made his Ducks debut, taking nine shifts and playing just over eight minutes and losing four of six draws in the faceoff circle. O'Marra was called up from Syracuse (AHL) to replace Nick Bonino, who suffered a leg injury Thursday night against St. Louis. O'Marra got the call that evening. "It was 11 o'clock at night and I was just about to go to sleep," O'Marra said. "I heard my phone ringing while I was in the wash room and I missed the call. Saw it was Bob Ferguson the (assistant) GM in Syracuse and I called him right back. He said, 'Hey, your mailbox is full.' Thank God I got him right back before he had to call to somebody else." O'Marra, who had an assist in seven games with Crunch after being acquired from Edmonton on Feb. 16, was on his way to Dallas where he got into his downtown hotel room late Friday afternoon. "I was pretty excited," he said.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Any hit that's into the boards for a defenseless person ... isn't that one of the criteria. Even if he didn't extend his arms, he pushed him. If he didn't, he held him. Pushed him and held him arms where he couldn't protect himself. That Robidas guy does it every game. And we tell him. He gets away with murder all the time. And then he says I didn't try to or I didn't mean to. It's not good enough." -- Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, on a hit by Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas that left star winger Corey Perry with a shoulder injury.
ROSTER REPORT
PLAYER NOTES:
--G Jonas Hiller made 21 saves against Dallas, only allowing a second-period goal to Brenden Morrow. Hiller continues to give the Ducks some strong play in net as he's allowed three or fewer goals in 18 of his last 19 starts. He has started the last 27 games for the team.
--C Saku Koivu played in his 999th career game when he suited up against Dallas and is set to hit the 1,000-game mark on Monday in Colorado. Koivu will reach this milestone despite battling injuries throughout his career and losing nearly an entire season to battle non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
--D Lubomir Visnovsky went without a point in the Ducks' shutout loss to Dallas, stretching his scoreless streak to 14 games. Visnovsky has just five goals and 17 assists in 56 games this season after leading all NHL defensemen in scoring last season with 68 points, which included a career-high 18 goals.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--C Nick Bonino didn't play Saturday against Dallas and is day to day with a leg injury. Bonino has been unable to skate the past couple of days after leaving Thursday's game against St. Louis early due to a hit by Blues defenseman Roman Polak.
--RW Corey Perry left Saturday's game in the third period with an apparent right shoulder injury, which occurred when he was driven into the boards by Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas in the second. Perry is day to day.
--G Dan Ellis will be out for four to six weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery on Friday. Ellis had torn his groin muscle during a Jan. 7 practice.
GOALTENDERS:
--Jonas Hiller
--Jeff Deslauriers
DEFENSE PAIRINGS:
--Francois Beauchemin, Cam Fowler
--Luca Sbisa, Lubomir Visnovsky
--Toni Lydman, Sheldon Brookbank
FIRST LINE:
--LW Niklas Hagman, C Ryan Getzlaf, RW Corey Perry
SECOND LINE:
--LW Bobby Ryan, C Saku Koivu, RW Teemu Selanne
THIRD LINE:
--LW Jason Blake, C Andrew Cogliano, RW Devante Smith-Pelly
FOURTH LINE:
--LW Matt Beleskey, C Ryan O'Marra, RW George Parros
