Ducks Rally to Beat Stars, End Skid : Hockey: Semenov leads way as they get three goals in third for 5-4 victory to end six-game losing streak.

For most of the Mighty Ducks’ game against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at Anaheim Arena, the Ducks looked as though they were on their way to their seventh consecutive defeat.

They entered the game as the NHL’s lowest-scoring team--averaging two goals per game.

They left with their third victory of the season, after a three-goal rally in the third period gave them a 5-4 victory.

The team that had been struggling to score two goals in a game scored two in the final five minutes before a delighted crowd of 16,186.

“We just showed a lot of desire the last five or six minutes,” goaltender Ron Tugnutt said. “We pretty much dominated the last period.”

Anatoli Semenov’s second goal of the game came with 1:30 to play to give the Ducks their only lead--and the first five-goal game of their existence.

“We feel a lot better,” Tugnutt said. “We’ve felt we’ve played well in all our games. Things just weren’t happening for us. We were starting to get a little negative, but then a few guys stepped up. We definitely needed it.”

Semenov, considered the team’s best offensive player along with Terry Yake, had only one goal this season before Wednesday, but he scored twice against Dallas and added two assists. The game-winner came when he lifted the puck over goaltender Andy Moog on a second effort on a play that began when Garry Valk dug the puck out of the corner.

“It’s hockey, simple,” Semenov said. “Shoot, rebound, score. Much better now. We won. Exactly what we needed.”

The Ducks, however, appeared to be on their way to yet another defeat after Dallas’ Derian Hatcher broke a 3-3 tie at 8:58 of the third.

But Valk scored to make it 4-4 at 16:47 when he redirected a pass from Semenov up and over a falling Moog.

“We’ve played well in third periods; we’ve just never finished our scoring chances,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “Tonight we did.”

After watching Dallas take a 2-0 lead, the Ducks broke through for a goal at 7:27 of the second. Semenov took a pass from defenseman Alexei Kasatonov in the slot, got Moog to move toward the far corner of the net, then put the puck barely inside the left post for his second goal of the season.

Defenseman Bill Houlder made it 2-2 at 15:54 with a goal assisted by Valk and Semenov, getting Moog to commit with some stickhandling in front of the net, then easily putting the puck past him.

Houlder’s goal brought the Ducks to life, and they killed a hooking penalty to Sean Hill energetically. But right on its heels, with only 1:18 to play in the period, Houlder took what proved a crucial penalty for holding the opponent’s stick. This time, Dallas capitalized on the power-play opportunity, scoring when Mike Modano redirected Mark Tinordi’s shot from the left point to take a 3-2 lead at 18:49.

The Ducks managed to muster another tie, though, at 1:56 of the third when defenseman Mark Ferner swept in a rebound from right in front. Moog made the first save of Bob Corkum’s shot as the Ducks came in on a 2-on-1 rush. But Joe Sacco found the rebound, and Ferner finally put it in the net for a 3-3 tie.

The Stars didn’t waste much time after the opening faceoff getting on the scoreboard.

They scored 2:32 into the game, after Ulf Dahlen was able to set up outside the crease unencumbered. Mike Modano made a nifty pass from the right wing boards to Chris Tancill, who passed across the slot to Dahlen. Dahlen, with time and space on his side, faked Tugnutt to the ice, then easily put the puck past him.

They made the lead 2-0 at 1:26 of the second on a goal by Tancill, who lifted the puck into the net after Modano drew the attention of defenseman Alexei Kasatonov and Tugnutt, then passed across the slot to Tancill.

Duck Notes

Captain Troy Loney missed a third consecutive game because of a bruised right knee. Right wing Jim Thomson, a former King, said he is ready to return from a shoulder injury suffered in the second game that has kept him out of all but one game over the last three weeks. . . . Defenseman Anatoli Fedotov, who was brought up Sunday on emergency recall to substitute for Alexei Kasatonov, has been sent back to minor league affiliate San Diego.