Stars bury Ducks with five-goal outburst
DALLAS -- Captain Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists and the Dallas Stars erupted for five third-period goals in a 6-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
Dallas (12-13-6) also got goals from Stephen Johns, Dan Hamhuis, Adam Cracknell, Patrick Eaves and Radek Faksa to start a five-game homestand on a positive note.
Tyler Seguin had two assists and Antti Niemi made 32 saves for the Stars, who are playing eight of their next nine at home. Jordie Benn also had two assists.
Anaheim (15-10-5) got a goal and an assist from Ryan Getzlaf and a goal from Corey Perry in the start of a six-game road trip.
Following a scoreless opening period, the teams traded goals late in the middle frame. Johns gave Dallas its first lead, although that edge proved fleeting, with his third goal of the season 6:38 before the second intermission.
Johns broke the deadlock with a wrist shot from the deep left point, near the Anaheim blue line, which crossed the goal line via the five-hole of Ducks goaltender John Gibson, who stopped 19 shots prior to being pulled in the third period.
The Ducks made it 1-1 just over two minutes later when Getzlaf scored his third goal with 4:14 remaining in the second period. Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya was battling with Rickard Rakell behind the Dallas goal when he attempted to clear the puck.
However, Oduya's attempted backhand clearance under duress was intercepted by Getzlaf, who delivered the equalizer despite not striking the puck cleanly.
Anaheim pulled ahead early in the third when Perry scored a power-play goal 1:08 into the final frame, setting off a hearty round of boos from the Dallas crowd. Perry displayed some deft stickhandling after receiving a pass from Getzlaf in front of the Dallas goal. After maneuvering his way to the far post, Perry finished with a backhand for his seventh goal of the season.
Twenty seconds earlier, Dallas had killed off its second 5-on-3 power play of the game, but the Ducks capitalized on this man advantage, resulting from a faceoff violation on Jamie Benn 12 seconds before the second intermission.
Hamhuis pulled the game level with a power-play goal at 5:41 of the third, his first tally in a Dallas uniform. Hamhuis, who was celebrating his 34th birthday on Tuesday, scored from the slot by tapping in a Benn pass from the right side.
It was Hamhuis' first goal in 32 games, since April 1, when he scored against Anaheim with Vancouver.
Dallas regained the lead 48 seconds later when Cracknell skated toward the visiting goal from the right side and sent the puck toward the net, where it deflected off Perry's stick for his third goal of the season.
Following a short official review to determine if Devin Shore high-sticked Perry, replays showed the puck deflected in off Perry's stick.
Eaves scored his 11th goal of the season from the slot with 9:09 remaining to put Dallas up 4-2. Jamie Benn then gave the Stars a three-goal lead with 7:36 remaining by redirecting a pass from his older brother Jordie.
Jamie Benn's ninth goal of the season chased Gibson from the game with Jonathan Bernier replacing him in the Anaheim crease. Bernier stopped both shots he faced in relief of Gibson.
Faksa added an empty-net goal with 6:03 remaining during a 4-on-4 situation.
NOTES: The Ducks scratched RW Jared Boll and D Korbinian Holzer. ... The Stars scratched LW Curtis McKenzie, D Patrik Nemeth and D Jamie Oleksiak, who was serving the final game of a two-game suspension for a check to the face of Flyers C Chris VandeVelde on Saturday in Philadelphia. ... Ducks C Stefan Noesen, the 21st pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, is a native of Dallas-area suburb Plano and was making his first NHL appearance in the area. ... Dallas is beginning a five-game homestand and will play eight of its next nine on home ice. ... The Ducks are beginning a six-game road trip. ... Stars G Antti Niemi started for the first time since Dec. 1 at Pittsburgh, ending a string of five consecutive starts by G Kari Lehtonen. ... Ducks G John Gibson made a second consecutive start and started for the fifth time in Anaheim's past seven games.