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.
