Dallas Stars 4, Anaheim Ducks 3 (OT)

by Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

DALLAS — The holiday break didn't slow the Dallas Stars down as far as collecting points, but it wasn't easy Saturday night. They needed a late goal from Mike Ribeiro to get the game to overtime and then Mike Modano scored with 1:26 left in the extra period get a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the American Airlines Center.

"I didn't like the game from a coach's point of view," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "It was sloppy and messy and looked like there was a lot of turkey involved in it. But we'll take the points."

The win extended the Stars' points streak to five games (4-0-1) and ran their record to 8-3-1 over their last 12 games.The Stars improved to 15-14-5 on the season with Saturday's win. It's the first time they've been over .500 this season.

"The important thing is the two points and climbing the ladder. We have to keep a playoff mentality every night and we just need to keep pushing," said Ribeiro, who had a goal and two assists. "We need to focus on the game at hand and keep winning at home. We've been showing some good work ethic, so we'll try and keep this run going. We are gaining some confidence and pushing forward. We have some key players back in the lineup and we are gaining some swagger."

The swagger was more of a stagger after Ducks forward Bobby Ryan's slick pass from behind the net set up Brendan Morrison's second goal of the night, which gave Anaheim a 3-2 lead with 3:21 left in the game.

But the Stars pulled goalie Marty Turco for the extra attacker late in the game and were able to get the equalizer when James Neal set up Ribeiro in front of the net and the Stars center was able to put the puck into the top of the net with 1:04 remaining in regulation.

"To score at the end like that at the end after they scored, and then to score in overtime [to win] just gives us confidence," said Ribeiro, who also picked up on an assist on Modano's game winner in overtime.

The Stars drew a power play in overtime when Brad Richards was able to spring Loui Eriksson on a breakaway, forcing Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf to take a penalty.

The Stars didn't actually score on the four-on-three power play chance, but one second after it expired Modano beat Ducks goalie J-S Giguere with a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle to give Dallas the win.

"We knew the time was ticking down and we were just trying to get something on net," said Modano, who hadn't scored a goal in eight games.

"It drives me crazy when people talk about (this) being his last year, when you have speed you can still play," Ribeiro said of Modano, who has 12 goals this season. "I don't think he's lost a beat, hopefully he can stay here as long as he can play."

The Ducks took the lead on Chris Kunitz goal in the first period. The Stars bounced back in the second period when the Ducks turned the puck over in their own end and Toby Petersen got the puck to Brad Richards, who scored on a perfectly placed shot from the right circle.

The Stars took their first lead of the game when they scored on the power play early in the second. Neal got to a puck that was under Ducks goalie J-S Giguere and slipped it into the net.

Anaheim tied the game on a power play goal by Morrison, who backhanded a rebound past Stars goalie Marty Turco to make it a 2-2 game. That set the stage for the wild finish, where the Stars headed to overtime for the fourth time in their last five games.

Despite picking up a point in the game, the Ducks lost their third straight game, fifth in their last seven and fell to 4-7-1 over their last 11 games. They also lost for the sixth time in their last seven road games.

"We can't get down. We recognize how hard we worked," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "You get down when you don't work hard and aren't in the game. We played closer to the style we need to have success on the road."