Giving up the tying goal in the final seconds of regulation was just a minor detour for Marty Turco and the rest of the Dallas Stars, who again found a way to remain unbeaten.
Sergei Zubov and Jussi Jokinen connected on both of Dallas' shots in the shootout, and the Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Sunday night in the only game on the NHL schedule.
``That goal could have been a little deflating, but we didn't let it,'' Turco said after making 36 saves. ``We're taking great pride in not letting anything bother us.''
Zubov and Antti Miettinen scored power-play goals in the second period and Niklas Hagman also scored for Dallas, which has won its first five games. The best start in franchise history was 6-0 in 1996-97, and the defending Pacific Division champions can equal that Tuesday night at San Jose when they conclude a four-game swing through California.
``It's a nice thing to shoot for,'' Mike Modano said. ``You want to see how far we can take a good start like this. So far, we've found different ways to win games _ getting leads, shootouts, coming from behind _ and that's good. You just find ways to win games and worry about the X's and O's later.''
Todd Marchant, Scott Niedermayer and Andy McDonald scored for the Ducks, who were coming off a six-round shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
The Stars limited Anaheim to four shots on net during their three-goal second period. But the Ducks got 16 in the third and forced overtime. Niedermayer converted a pass from his brother Rob with 10:16 left in regulation, and McDonald tied the game with just 18.3 seconds on the clock when Chris Pronger's long slap shot deflected off his leg and into the net.
Dallas tied it 1-1 at 2:40 of the second, just 14 seconds into a 5-on-3 advantage after Rob Niedermayer received a double-minor penalty for cutting Mike Ribeiro with a high stick. Zubov scored on a one-timer from the top of the left circle on a cross-ice pass from Mike Modano, whose assist was his 700th in the NHL. The goal came with 15 seconds left on Teemu Selanne's hooking penalty.
``They're a team that can control the puck well. And if you give it to them, you're making their job a lot easier,'' Scott Niedermayer said. ``Our game is to control the puck, and we really didn't do that all night long. We played harder and we were more aggressive in the third period, but the decisions we made with the puck we have to try and make all the time.''
Hagman put Dallas ahead 2-1 at 8:40 of the second, getting a pass from Stu Barnes and flipping the puck over goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's stick from short range. At that point, Bryzgalov was replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere after facing 14 shots.
``I don't like short-side goals, and they had two go in on the short side,'' Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. ``I felt we were flat as a group, and I thought it would help our composure.''
Giguere gave up Miettinen's goal at 17:10 of the second, which put Dallas up 3-1 with five seconds left on Shane O'Brien's hooking penalty. Marchant blocked a shot from close range by Brenden Morrow and the puck ricocheted to Miettinen, who had plenty of net to shoot with Giguere scrambling to get back in position.
Marchant opened the scoring at 16:16 of the opening period with his 21st career short-handed goal and first since Nov. 21, 2002, while with Edmonton. It came while Anaheim's Joe DiPenta was serving another double-minor, high-sticking penalty for cutting Miettinen.
Notes: Modano, whose 70 career points against Anaheim are the most by any opposing player, has not scored a goal in his last nine games against the Ducks. ... Bryzgalov, who had three consecutive shutouts in the playoffs last May, came in 0-3 lifetime against Dallas. In only other start this season, he made 34 saves in a 2-1 win at Phoenix. ... Turco made 36 saves and Giguere had 21. ... The Ducks have yet to allow a first-period goal this season (54 shots), and have scored the first goal in each of their first five games (3-0-2). Last season, they were 26-8-4 when scoring first. ... Anaheim lost three times to Dallas in an 11-day span last November during a club record-tying eight-game losing streak. ... Dallas RW Matthew Barnaby, playing in his 800th NHL game, got into a fight with Travis Moen after the first period expired. Barnaby has 112 career goals _ one for every 22 minutes he has accumulated in penalties.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
