Recap: Carlsson Strikes Twice as Ducks Fall 4-3 in OT to Stars

Leo Carlsson scored twice but the Ducks could not find an overtime winner tonight in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.

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Despite earning a standings point, the loss dropped Anaheim to 30-32-7 on the season. The Ducks now sit seven points back of a Western Conference Wild Card position, pending the result of Tuesday night's Canucks vs. Jets contest in Winnipeg, with 14 games left on the regular-season schedule.

Carlsson led the Ducks offensively with his seventh multi-point performance of the season, including his first career penalty shot goal. Nikita Nesterenko netted his fifth career NHL goal, while Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, Troy Terry and Ryan Strome collected assists. Lukas Dostal made 27 saves in his 44th appearance of the season.

Mikael Granlund buried the game-winning goal for Dallas in overtime, his second goal of the game. Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley also scored, as the Stars improved to 43-21-3. Goaltender Jake Oettinger earned his 31st win of the year with 22 stops.

Dallas went ahead first midway through an opening period stocked full of penalties and power-play opportunities, as Johnston found free space in the slot and tipped home defenseman Thomas Harley's point shot on the man advantage.

The go-ahead tally made Johnston the fourth different Star with at least 25 goals this season. Recently signed to a five-year extension, the 21-year-old is on pace to set new career-high totals in points and assists.

The goal also marked the 38th time this season the Stars have scored first, one shy of the NHL lead.

Anaheim would then briefly pull even in the middle frame on a goal that looked a whole lot like Johnston's, a wrister from the left point that was headed well wide of the net before Nesterenko deftly deflected it past Oetting to the glove side.

The goal was Nesterenko's fifth in the NHL, and his first scored on someone other than St. Louis netminder Jordan Binnington. Nesterenko has scored in consecutive games and owns four points in 10 NHL appearances this season.

McTavish collected the secondary helper on the goal, his 14th point in 13 games since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Now in his third NHL season, McTavish is closing in on new career high totals in goals, assists and points, ranking among Anaheim's top-four scorers in each category.

The 1-1 score would last less than two minutes though, with Granlund putting the Stars right back ahead on a sharp-angle shot from left wing that kicked off Dostal and up over the goaltender's shoulder.

Acquired from San Jose in February, Granlund has registered 11 points in his first 16 games as a Star.

But once again, Anaheim punched right back when trailing by one, taking control on a pair of goals by Carlsson.

This first came on a 5-on-3 power play and a strong drive to the net. Terry took the initial shot from right wing, which appeared to be gobbled up by Oettinger, but the puck eventually trickled through the goaltender, allowing Strome to poke it free for a Carlsson tap-in that tied the game.

Terry's assist was the 167th of his NHL career, tying Andy McDonald for tenth place in Ducks history. Terry leads Anaheim with 50 points on the season, his fourth straight year reaching the half-century mark. Only Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne have posted longer streaks in a Ducks sweater.

Carlsson then put the Ducks ahead on a penalty shot goal, going to his customary head fake before beating Oettinger on the forehand just inside the post.

The two-goal night gave Carlsson ten points in his last 10 games and 16 goals in 62 appearances this season. Like McTavish, Carlsson has found his groove offensively since the 4 Nations break, posting 13 points in as many games over the last month.

Harley answered right back for Dallas early in the third though, beating Dostal over the glove from the high slot while fighting off Strome's stick check.

Pressed into a larger role in the absence of All-Star blueliner Miro Heiskanen, Harley tonight became the 17th NHL defenseman to reach 40 points on the season, while his 13 goals match Edmonton's Evan Bouchard for seventh in the league.

Killorn nearly netted the decisive goal with just over three minutes to go in regulation, wiring a one-timer from Gauthier past Oettinger, but the shot rang the pipe and bounced wide of the net.

Granlund ended the festivities about halfway through overtime, following up a loose puck in the slot and potting it past Dostal before the Anaheim netminder could adjust in his crease.

The OT winner marked Granlund's 600th career NHL, making him the 11th Finnish player in NHL history to reach the milestone.

The Ducks conclude a three-game road trip Thursday in Nashville.