Stars start second half with win over Ducks

Anaheim, CA – Michael Ryder and Jamie Benn each had a goal 2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.

Stephane Robidas, Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and Sheldon Souray each scored for the Stars, who took a 1-0 win over Anaheim in Dallas in their final game before the All-Star break. Kari Lehtonen turned aside 33 shots in the win.

"I think we were thinking more about offense tonight," said Benn. "We got some timely goals there in the first period and things started rolling from there. It was nice to have an output like that."

Luca Sbisa and Matt Beleskey each scored for the Ducks, who were coming off a 4-1 win in Phoenix on Tuesday. Jonas Hiller was tagged for all six goals on 26 shots.

"We knew how big this game was and we knew how big this game was going to be," said Sbisa. "Dallas is one of the teams we have to catch. They were ready tonight and we weren't."

Anaheim scored 5:14 in as Beleskey's wrist shot from the right point hit off a Star and snuck past Lehtonen, but the Stars scored three times in less than four minutes later in the first.

The first goal came at 13:56 when Alex Goligoski blasted a shot from the left point that was stopped, but Nystrom was parked in front to bang home the rebound.

Less than three minutes later, the Stars skated down on a short 2-on-1 with Fiddler taking the puck down the left wing, drawing it back to get around the defender and snapping it in from the slot.

A minute later, Steve Ott sent the puck from the right boards in the neutral zone to a flying Benn, who got behind the defense and roofed it from down low for a 3-1 lead.

It was 4-1 7:14 into the second as Dallas got a power-play goal, as Robidas' one-timer from the top of the right circle got past Hiller.

Anaheim got one back 1:22 later when Sbisa's wrister on the fly from the slot snuck past the glove of Lehtonen.

That was as close as it got, though, as Souray scored 36 seconds into the third and Ryder finished off a rush with a redirect of an Ott pass from the right side with 2:26 to play.

Game Notes

Dallas plays in San Jose on Thursday...Anaheim hosts Columbus on Friday...Dallas has won four of the five meetings with Anaheim this season...Anaheim went 0-for-4 on the power play while Dallas was 1-for-3.