ANAHEIM—The Stars’ young guns out-dueled the powerful NHL-leading Ducks on Saturday night. Trevor Daley and Jamie Benn scored in the second and third periods to blank the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 at Honda Center. Dan Ellis made 26 saves to earn his first shutout since joining Dallas this season.
Holding off the East’s tough opponents in the Flyers left most thinking that the Stars who are behind in the overall standings would be a cakewalk to go through. That was not the case at the start of the first period as the Stars came out hard for the puck. They gained a lengthy amount in the Anaheimzone to fire early on Jonas Hiller playing in his first game in 3 days. Hiller, along with the Ducks’ defense, held off nine shots from the Stars, leaving time to score later on Anaheim.
The second period was another moment wasted with the Ducks taking eight shots, all being clocked by Ellis who had much to prove against the best in the west. His success switched into scoring from the Dallas offense, as Daley opened the lead for the Stars with Cody Eakin skating by Patrick Maroon to backhand the pass to Daley, giving him his fourth of the year. The Stars took a dozen shots on Hiller, as the team needed a big win to start the month of February.
The Ducks got their momentum to play in the third, shooting 12 on the Dallasnetminder, but his quest for another shutout became a serious agenda to accomplish as the Stars wanted to break a three-game losing streak. Time continued to fall off the clock, leaving the Ducks no choice but to go for the sixth man and somehow score two goals to force OT. The strategy went unanswered by the Anaheim lines, as Dallas fought the puck in their favor, setting up Benn for the empty net goal and his 22nd of the season.
The loss barely puts the Ducks in any danger as they hold a firm stance on first place in the Pacific Division with 11 points ahead of San Jose, and five points above Chicago for the conference. The Ducks will next meet withColumbus.
