The Ducks lose their 10th consecutive game, falling 3-2 to the Stars
Roope Hintz and Jacob Peterson scored in the third period to help the Dallas Stars rally for a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
Radek Faksa had a goal, Jake Oettinger made 26 saves and the Stars moved one point ahead of Vegas for the second wild-card from the Western Conference with three games in hand.
“Of course everyone knows we have to get these points, so I don’t think you have to hear that from anybody,” Hintz said. “Everybody should know that, so every game, every shift is huge right now, so we just have to keep playing like that.”
Troy Terry scored his 31st goal, Derek Grant had a goal and an assist, and the Ducks lost their 10th straight game. Trevor Zegras had two assists and John Gibson allowed three goals on 32 shots for Anaheim, which is 0-8-2 since defeating San Jose on March 6.
“Obviously losing 10 in a row is not fun for anybody involved,” Zegras said. “Honestly, I just feel bad for Gibby, one of the best goalies in the league and he’s going to stand on his head like he did tonight, and we kind of throw that at him in the third period.”
Peterson finished off a 2-on-1 break from John Klingberg to put the Stars in front 3-2 with 7:24 remaining, beating Gibson between his legs with a backhand. It was Peterson’s fifth game-winning goal this season.
Gerry Mayhew scored and rookie goalie Lukas Dostal turned back 19 shots in his third start for the Ducks, but they lost 4-1 to the Sharks in San Jose.
“He’s making plays out there, right?” Dallas forward Jason Robertson said. “He has that confidence, and stuff’s working, and the puck seems to find him right now.”
Hintz was alone in the slot to bury a one-timer from Robertson to tie it up 2-all at 8:48 of the third.
“I think it’s just sticking to what we do,” Robertson said. “Gosh, we had a lot of chances in the second period and in the third period, we had chances. It’s just one of those games their goalie made some really good saves, but we were able to get one past him.”
After a sluggish start, Anaheim came charging back in the second period. Grant tied it up 1-all at 3:54, centering the puck from his knees where it struck the skate of Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell and went in.
Terry put the home team ahead 2-1 midway through the period, with the movement of his wobbly shot from the high slot catching Oettinger by surprise.
The Stars went in front with 5:55 left in the first period on Faksa’s fourth goal, with Michael Raffl pouncing on a turnover in the neutral zone to allow Faksa and Luke Glendening to break the other way. Faksa beat Gibson at the far post after getting him to commit with a clever fake to the forehand.
Zegras nearly sent it to overtime with a sharp-angle shot that hit the post inside the final 10 seconds.
“We’re not happy to be in this position,” said Zegras, who has 33 assists this season with five coming in the past four games. “I mean, our circumstances doesn’t really matter. Like, can’t lose 10 in a row. I’m a big part of that, I know that. We’ve got a lot of guys that aren’t happy with it, so try to figure it out here moving forward.”
Go beyond the scoreboard
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