Ducks Dominate Stars 5-2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Captain Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists, and Teemu Selanne scored his 673rd career goal in the Anaheim Ducks' 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
Viktor Fasth made 23 saves and Radek Dvorak scored his first goal for Anaheim in the second of three straight meetings in five days between the Pacific Division-leading Ducks and the last-place Stars, who lost 4-0 in Dallas on Monday.
Lane MacDermid scored his first NHL goal in his Dallas debut, and Kari Lehtonen stopped 22 shots in the Stars' first game since trading Jaromir Jagr to Boston and Derek Roy to Vancouver. Erik Cole also scored for the Stars.
Kyle Palmieri snapped a 13-game goal drought and Andrew Cogliano scored an empty-net goal as the Pacific Division-leading Ducks improved the NHL's third-best record to 25-7-5.
Anaheim also closed within two points of the NHL-leading Chicago Blackhawks.
With the departures of Jagr and Roy, Alex Chiasson made his NHL debut for Dallas and center Ryan Garbutt returned from a nine-game absence with an injured wrist. High-scoring left wing Loui Eriksson also played center for the Stars, who have lost three straight.
Fasth, who shut out Dallas earlier this week, blanked Dallas through the first 42 minutes Wednesday before Cole scored. MacDermid, acquired from the Bruins in the Jagr deal, got his first NHL goal with 1:24 to play.
Getzlaf had the fourth three-point game in his outstanding season for Anaheim, which is 3-0-1 since a four-game losing streak last month. The Ducks have a comfortable lead atop the Pacific with 11 games to play, closing in on just their second division title in two decades of existence.
After adding veterans Dvorak and David Steckel last month, the Ducks made only two moves at the trade deadline, acquiring center Matthew Lombardi from Phoenix and shipping out third-string goalie Jeff Deslauriers in separate deals.
Anaheim showed little fatigue in its 22nd game in 39 days, controlling early play and going ahead during a delayed penalty midway through the first period when Getzlaf zipped a pinpoint cross-ice pass from the far boards to Dvorak for a one-timer.
Dvorak, a 17-year NHL veteran who signed with Anaheim on March 24, had been playing in Switzerland this winter after scoring 21 points in 73 games for Dallas last season.
Selanne scored his 251st power-play goal in the second period when a drop pass by Getzlaf deflected to him for a nasty wrist shot. Selanne endured a nine-game goal drought in March, but the 42-year-old Finnish Flash has scored at least 10 goals for the 20th consecutive season.
Palmieri added his added his eighth goal of the season five minutes later, easily moving past stationary defenseman Aaron Rome. The Ducks' promising scorer hadn't found the net in his last 13 games since getting a hat trick Feb. 27 against Nashville.
Getzlaf got his 13th goal in the third period, beating Lehtonen with an expertly placed backhand.
NOTES: The 6-foot-4 Chiasson was a second-round pick in 2009 before playing three seasons at Boston University. Chiasson hit Anaheim's Matt Beleskey squarely in the face with his stick blade early in the third period, but wasn't penalized while Beleskey went to the dressing room. ... The Ducks traded C Brandon McMillan to Phoenix for Lombardi, who wasn't in town to face Dallas. McMillan never solidified a spot in the Ducks' lineup over the past three years despite numerous chances to stick in Anaheim. He played in six games with Anaheim this season, spending most of the last two years in the AHL. ... Getzlaf's right leg bent awkwardly when he got tied up with Jamie Benn in the opening minute of the third period. He skated slowly off the ice and hobbled to the dressing room, but returned a few minutes later.
