Anaheim Ducks 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT)

by Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

Stars blow a 3-0 lead with putrid third period.

Another blown lead. Another trip beyond regulation. Another lost point. The Dallas Stars built a 3-0 lead in Anaheim Tuesday night but had to settle for one point as the Ducks stormed back to win 4-3 in overtime at Honda Center.

It was the second straight game in which the Stars blew a lead and lost when it went past regulation. On Saturday they squandered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Edmonton Oilers.

"It's been a consistent thing from our club to sit back and try to hold on for wins in the third," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. "It's never a recipe for success. We're pretty frustrated with how we are finishing some hockey games the first third of the season.

"I think we've got to go out to win games and not be scared to lose. There's a big difference. We're just going out and holding on. Anytime there's any pressure we just kind of fold up, clam up and try to play defense. Against an explosive team like this they are going to find some holes."

The Ducks scored three goals in a 20:34 span from late in the second period to late in the third to erase the Stars' 3-0 lead and send the game to the extra period, where Saku Koivu scored the game-winner with 46.5 seconds left in OT.

"You've got to want to make plays," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "You've got to be supportive of one another. We made a couple mistakes in the third period."

The Stars were virtually mistake free for almost the first two-thirds of the game. They got first period goals from Brad Richards and Mike Modano and then Richards scored again in the second to give the Stars a commanding 3-0 lead they held late into the second period. That's when Anaheim started to get back into the game.

The Ducks cut the Stars lead to 3-1 with 1:36 left in the second when Joffrey Lupul scored on a breakaway after he came out of the penalty box, and then the Anaheim launched its all out assault on the Stars in the third period. game.

"That opening shift [of the third period] we felt their pressure," said Morrow. "They had a lot of zone time on us and I think that point we kind of folded up and played tentative."

The first Anaheim goal came at 6:08 of the third when the Stars turned over the puck in their own zone and Bobby Ryan set up Dan Sexton, who beat Stars goalie Marty Turco from close range for his first NHL goal.

The pressure continued and the Ducks finally broke through again when Sexton scored his second NHL goal to tie the game with 1:02 left in regulation, beating Turco with a shot from near the right boards.

Turco made some big stops in overtime, but he had no answer when the Ducks came into the Dallas zone on a three-on-one and Saku Koivu banged home the rebound of his own shot with 46.5 seconds left in the extra period to give Anaheim the win.

"Give them credit. They fought hard and poured a lot of energy into everything they did in the last 20 minutes," said Crawford. "But still it was a game we should have gotten two points out of. We have to learn from the mistakes we made."

The Ducks snapped a five-game winless streak and improved to 11-13-6 on the season.

"There have been a number of games where we felt that we played well enough to win games," Koivu said. "For some reason, we’ve been able to lose those points and those games. Now, coming back from behind and a big goal in the end by Sexton, those are huge things. Hopefully, this is a turning point and we can get a streak going."

The Stars, who are now 13-8-9 on the season and 3-9 in games that have gone beyond regulation, play at San Jose on Friday.