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 Nate Thompson and Ryan Kesler scored short-handed goals to give
the Ducks a 3-1 victory over the Stars on Sunday night in front of
16,585 at the Honda Center.
"It really was our best game in a month," Anaheim coach Bruce
Boudreau said. "We'd like to continue to play at this level for the
next four games. But, for sure, we know we can do it when we put our
minds to it."
Ryan Getzlaf added an empty-net goal and goalie John Gibson stopped
25 shots for the Ducks (44-24-10), who used their fourth win in five
games to move into first place in the Pacific Division by one point
over the idle Los Angeles Kings.
"We played exactly how we needed to play against a team like this,"
Anaheim left winger Andrew Cogliano said of the Stars, who averaged
a league-leading 3.26 goals per game entering the contest. "We
played a patient game and we didn't give them too many chances,
really. That should be a big confidence booster for us and get us
back on the right track."
 The Stars (48-23-9), despite getting a late goal from Radek Faksa,
watched their four-game winning streak end and their lead in the
Central Division shrink to two points over the second-place St.
Louis Blues and four points over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Dallas has two games remaining in the final week of the regular
season, both at home, but the Blues and Blackhawks must play three
apiece. St. Louis and Chicago have two of their final three at home.
"To lose two points like that is disappointing," Stars left winger
Jamie Benn said. "Mental mistakes killed us."
Thompson scored his third goal in three games, the longest such
streak of his career, while the Ducks were defusing Cogliano's
tripping penalty.
Dallas defenseman John Klingberg made a backhanded drop pass that
Thompson intercepted at center ice. Thompson faked to his backhand
and deposited the puck between goalie Antti Niemi's right skate and
the left post at 12:14 of the second period.
"I've seen bigger mistakes," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "'Klinger'
is young and he's going to make some mistakes but he's got to get
through them. He's also made some great plays."
Gibson made three critical saves earlier in the period. About two
minutes into the period, Gibson stopped Valeri Nichushkin on a
breakaway by closing his legs just before the puck crossed the goal
line.
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Nearly five minutes later, Gibson used his left pad to stop Patrick
Sharp twice in two seconds after Sharp received a pass off the draw
from a faceoff in the Ducks' zone.
Kesler scored Anaheim's second short-handed goal 10 seconds into the
final period while Clayton Stoner served another tripping penalty.
Sharp tried to pass to Klingberg by banking the puck off base of the
boards behind the net. But Jakob Silfverberg intercepted the pass
and set the puck to Kesler, who snapped a wrist shot inside the
right post for his 19th goal.
The Ducks had not scored two short-handed goals in a game since
March 12, 2015, against the then-Phoenix Coyotes.
The Stars pulled Niemi for an extra attacker with 2:21 to play,
enabling Faksa to score his fifth goal with 1:29 left. But Getzlaf's
13th ended the scoring with 21.3 seconds remaining.
Niemi finished with 22 saves.
NOTES: Dallas scratched D Jason Demers (shoulder), LW Mattias
Janmark (upper body), D Jamie Oleksiak, RW Brett Ritchie (lower
body), D Kris Russell (foot) and C Tyler Seguin (Achilles). Janmark
sustained his injury Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. ...
Anaheim scratched G Frederik Andersen (concussion), D Kevin Bieksa
(upper body), D Simon Despres (upper body), LW David Perron
(separated right shoulder), LW Brandon Pirri (upper body) and C
Rickard Rakell (appendicitis). Pirri was hurt in the second period
of the Friday night game against the Vancouver Canucks. ... Ducks LW
Andrew Cogliano played in his 700th consecutive game, the longest
streak of its kind among active players and the sixth longest in NHL
history. ... Ducks RW Corey Perry played in his 800th career game.
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