The Anaheim Ducks (9-3-1) came back from a two-goal deficit in the first period to defeat the Dallas Stars (7-4-3) 7-5 on Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
Wyatt Johnston, Tyler Seguin, Mikko Rantanen, and Roope Hintz scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger made 17 saves.
Related: Cutter Gauthier’s Hat Trick Helps Lift Ducks 7-3 Over Panthers
Chris Kreider, Ian Moore, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, Leo Carlsson, and Mason McTavish scored for the Ducks. Lukas Dostal made 21 saves.
Game Recap
Johnston finished off a terrific power play for the Stars with a quick one-timer in the mid-slot off a pass from Rantanen that beat Dostal for the first goal of the game.
Johnston doubled the Stars’ lead at 16:18 with another power-play goal, this time on a shot from Miro Heiskanen that was barely tipped by Johnston, but counted for his second goal of the night and his ninth of the season.
It took just 76 seconds into the second period for the Ducks to get on the board with a power-play goal of their own. Kreider broke out on the rush down the left boards and beat Oettinger blocker-side.
Moore tied the game 92 seconds later with his first career NHL goal. Ryan Poehling sent a perfect pass across the crease, and Moore hammered home the game-tying goal.
Seguin restored the lead for Dallas with a breakaway goal that just went under Dostal’s glove. Heiskanen started the play with a turnover in the defensive zone, and Sam Steel sent a perfect pass up the middle to send Seguin in on a breakaway.
The chaos in the second period continued as Gauthier tied the game once again after Alex Killorn created a turnover in the neutral zone, sent it to Gauthier, and Gauthier’s shot from the right circle trickled through Oettinger for his 11th goal of the season.
Zellweger scored his first goal of the season with a power-play goal of an unintentional cross-ice pass from Beckett Sennecke that took Oettinger out of position and led to a wide-open net for Zellweger. After starting the period down two goals, the Ducks entered the third up 4-3.
Kreider doubled that lead 16 seconds into the third, with a tip-in at the top of the crease off a point-shot from Drew Helleson.
Rantanen answered at 1:50 of the period with yet another power-play goal, this time with Rantanen tapping in an open-net shot from a nifty cross-crease pass from Johnston.
With all of the power-play goals from both teams, it was a shorthanded goal from Carlsson that restored the two-goal lead for Anaheim.
At 16:39, the Stars cut the deficit to one with a Rantanen shot from the right circle that deflected off Hintz and in.
McTavish scored an empty-netter at 18:07 to seal the 7-5 victory for the Ducks.
The Stars outshot the Ducks 25-24 and went 3-for-5 on the power play. The Ducks were 2-for-5 with the man advantage.
Up Next
Both teams are back in action on Saturday. The Stars are in Nashville to take on the Predators, and the Ducks are in Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights.
