Ducks are up for a challenge and beat Stars, 3-1

The Ducks turned over a new maple leaf.

For two weeks they muddled through seven consecutive games against nonplayoff-bound Canadian teams that took them out of their structure and, to hear them describe it, left them unenergized.

The Ducks were eager for an elite opponent and it showed Sunday with a 3-1 victory against the Dallas Stars that put Anaheim back into first place in the Pacific Division.

Playing without several injured players, the Ducks fittingly took the short-handed route with short-handed goals by Nate Thompson and Ryan Kesler, and goalie John Gibson reached 20 victories for the first time in his career in an up-tempo game at Honda Center.

“I think it was, really, our best game in a month,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We were a pretty determined group.

“I think it was something that got the players excited … this had a little bit more meaning.”

Dallas leads the Western Conference with 105 points and boasts the NHL’s No. 2 goal scorer in Jamie Benn. The Ducks’ top-ranked penalty-killing unit held the Stars’ No. 3 power play scoreless on four chances. Benn did not take a shot after the first period.

“I think we played exactly how we needed to play against a team like that,” said Andrew Cogliano, who became the second player to play 700 consecutive games to start his career, after Doug Jarvis, who played 964 games from 1975 to 1988.

“I thought, defensively, we played strong. We didn’t give them too many chances. We played a patient game and capitalized on our chances. I thought it was one of the better games we’ve played in a while.”

Thompson took an errant, no-look pass from Dallas defenseman John Klingberg at center ice and skated in alone on goalie Antti Niemi in the second period. Thompson did a leg kick before he made a backhand-forehand deke around Niemi for his sixth career short-handed goal.

“Great move,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know where he’s been keeping it.”

Thompson said “every now and then it’s there.” The goal marked his first three-game goal-scoring streak after he was scoreless in his first 42 games this season following shoulder surgery in June.

Thompson had a six-month recovery and didn’t make his season debut until Dec. 2.

“It’s nice for it to be coming at this time of the year, especially for playoffs,” he said. “Just hopefully I don’t use them all up for the playoffs.”

Kesler converted a feed from Jakob Silfverberg, who dumped in the puck and stole Patrick Sharp’s pass from behind the net 10 seconds into the third period.

“It was kind of a set play off the draw there, and it finally worked,” Kesler said. “We’ve only been trying it for 80 games.”

Kesler took a long pause when reminded the Ducks could have longer travel, to Nashville, for the first round of the playoffs, instead of San Jose.

“Our goal from the beginning of the year was to get home ice and to make playoffs, and right now we’re in the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve just got to get home ice.”

Corey Perry joined Teemu Selanne as the only players in franchise history to play in 800 games.

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