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Niedermayer Leads Ducks Past Stars 4-2

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[January 16, 2008]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Scott Niedermayer had a goal and two assists, Todd Bertuzzi and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.

Todd Marchant scored the go-ahead goal in the second period for the Ducks, who vaulted over Dallas into second place in the Pacific Division with their 10th win in 13 games.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 saves, helping the defending Stanley Cup champions beat the Stars for the first time in four meetings this season.

Anaheim is 10-2-2 since Niedermayer returned to the lineup after contemplating retirement. The three-point game tied a career high for last year's playoff MVP, who has 15 of them during the regular season.

Niklas Hagman and Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas, which has lost seven of nine.

The Ducks put relentless pressure on Turco, particularly in the second period when they outshot the Stars 19-5 and grabbed a 3-1 lead with Marchant's fourth goal and Getzlaf's 18th.

Turco stopped Ryan Carter's sharp-angle backhander from the right circle and swept the puck behind his net while on his knees, but Marchant beat defenseman Trevor Daley to it and scored on a wraparound at 9:02 of the period.

Less than 5 minutes later, Getzlaf converted a rebound of Brandon Bochenski's shot while Dallas captain Brenden Morrow was off for tripping Niedermayer.

Eriksson cut the margin to 3-2 just 23 seconds before the second intermission after Marchant fanned in an attempt to clear the puck from in front of the net. But Bertuzzi restored Anaheim's two-goal lead with 11:23 to play, just 16 seconds after Dallas rookie Nicklas Grossman was sent off for hooking.

Defenseman Sergei Zubov returned to the Stars' lineup after missing one game with a foot injury. He hooked Chris Kunitz from behind with 4:06 left, resulting in Kunitz's first career penalty shot, but Turco made the save.

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It was the first time Dallas had allowed two power-play goals in a game since Nov. 10 at Los Angeles, when they blew a four-goal lead in the third period and lost 6-5 in overtime. The Stars came in leading the NHL with an 87.8 percentage on the penalty kill, and had allowed just three goals on 47 short-handed situations in their previous 12 games.

Hagman opened the scoring at 3:13, picking up a loose puck in the slot and beating Jean-Sebastien Giguere with a short wrist shot after Mike Modano's centering pass caromed off Bertuzzi's skate.

The Ducks tied it at less than 1 1/2 minutes later on a sensational rush involving Niedermayer, Corey Perry and Todd Bertuzzi, who worked the puck back and forth in the Dallas zone as though they had it on a string. The play included two touch passes and a 360-degree, no-look backhanded pass from Bertuzzi to Perry, whose final touch pass set up Niedermayer's one-timer from the left circle.

Turco had a close shave with about 11 minutes left in the first, but referee Rob Shick bailed him out with a quick whistle. Anaheim's Brad May whacked at Turco's glove and caused the puck to trickle across the goal line after the goalie stopped a slap shot by Kent Huskins and then clamped down on the bouncing puck.

Notes: The Ducks, who swept their four-game homestand, will play 12 of their next 13 games on the road. ... With Jussi Jokinen, Jere Lehtinen and Philippe Boucher still sidelined, the Stars reached 100 man-games lost to injuries. Anaheim's total is 89, not counting the sabbaticals taken by Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne. ... Anaheim C Rob Niedermayer, whose next game will be his 900th in the NHL during the regular season, injured his groin in the first period and didn't return.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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