The Anaheim Ducks cruised once again as they defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Dallas. After being called out by coach Lindy Ruff, Kari Lehtonen was on the bench against one of the league's best teams. His absence showed as Jhonas Enroth allowed three goals on just 22 shots. The defense did what it needed to do, but it was not enough.
It took almost the whole first period, but, finally, Anaheim got on the board as Corey Perry scored his 27th goal of the year at the 17:46 mark, assisted by Jiri Sekac and Ryan Getzlaf. Dallas tied the game up at 1-1 almost a full period later as Patrick Eaves scored his seventh goal of the year, assisted by John Klingberg and Trevor Daley. Things got chippy in the second as Curtis McKenzie and Clayton Stoner both got five-minute majors for fighting, and then Stoner picked up another penalty for high sticking later in the second. Stoner, though, would make up for his mistakes.
Stoner broke the tie in the third with a goal 4:19 into the period, his first of the year. Later, Getzlaf sealed the game with his 20th goal, assisted by Perry.
The Stars, as they have all season, generated a lot of shots, but they could not make the plays when they needed to make them. They put 40 shots on young Ducks goalie John Gibson, but only one got past him. In the final two periods, the Stars outshot the Ducks 30-9, but it was not enough as Anaheim rolled and continues to chase Nashville for the top seed in the West. They now sit at 87 points, just two points out, while Nashville has a game in hand. Dallas has lost six in a row and is now 12th in West, a point behind Colorado for sixth in the Central.
Erik Cole was a healthy scratch tonight, and it was later announced that he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings at the deadline.