Stars rally past Ducks, 6-2

The Dallas Stars got the result they were looking for as they opened a key stretch of home games. The Stars exploded for five goals in the third period to rally past the Anaheim Ducks, 6-2, at American Airlines Center Tuesday night.
"It's great for our team confidence to start the homestand like that," said Dallas defenseman Dan Hamhuis. "We've been playing well lately but haven't been getting results. It was a good sign for our team to be resilient to come back in the third."
After the Ducks took a 2-1 lead early in the third, Hamhuis and Adam Cracknell scored goals 52 seconds apart that gave the Stars a 3-2 lead that they would push to 6-2 by the end of the night and snap a two-game losing streak.
"Once we got a few goals and got the energy back tonight, it was like a weight was lifted off of us," said Stars coach Lindy Ruff.
The Stars, who were beginning a stretch where they will play eight of the next nine games at the AAC, are hoping to use the home heavy schedule as a springboard to get their season heading in the right direction and move into a playoff position.
"It's important," said Stars captain Jamie Benn. "We all realize where we're at in the standings and how we've been playing to start the year. We see this homestand as a big one for us. It could be make or break, and we want to be making something of this."

Antti Niemi, who was making his first start since Dec.1, was sharp in goal, stopping 34 shots and keeping the Stars in the game in the first two periods when the Ducks had the better of the play.
"Excellent, he played a great game for us," said Ruff.
The six goals matched the season-high for the Stars, who have struggled to score this season. Benn recorded one goal and two assists. Stephen Johns, Patrick Eaves, and Radek Faksa also scored.
"You've got to give the players in the room a lot of credit for seizing the moment in the third period there and turning the tide our way," said Ruff. "It started with Antti, and it followed with our key guys up front, our big players, our best players were our best players, and it made a big difference for us."
The Stars improved to 8-4-2 at home and are now 12-13-6 on the season.
The Ducks had a three-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time in their past nine games (6-2-1).
"It takes 60 minutes to win a hockey game in the NHL, and we didn't play 60 minutes. We only played 40," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.
The Stars penalty kill came up big in the first period, thwarting back-to-back Anaheim power plays including 1:09 of five-on-three time. Niemi stopped four shots during the two power plays. Niemi came up with a couple of big saves in the final minute of the first, stopping Nick Ritchie on a three-on-one with 48 seconds remaining and then denying Corey Perry on a breakaway 12 seconds later.
The Ducks had the better of play in the first half of the second period, but the Stars grabbed the lead at the 13:22 mark when Johns put a shot on net from the right point, and it made its way through traffic and past Ducks goaltender John Gibson. But the Ducks tied it a little more than two minutes later when Rickard Rakell forced a turnover behind the Dallas net and Ryan Getzlaf scored from close range at the 15:36 mark to make it a 1-1 game.
The third period began with the Ducks on a five-on-three power play for 1:04. They didn't score on the two-man advantage, but Getzlaf set up Perry, who swept a backhand shot into the net on the five-on-four to put Anaheim up 2-1 at the 1:08 mark.
But the Stars bounced back with two quick goals to take a 3-2 lead. With Dallas on its fourth power play of the night, Benn set up Hamhuis who redirected the puck into the net from close range at 5:41 of the third. It was Hamhuis' first goal as a Stars.
"It was nice to get that first one out of the way," Hamhuis said. "Jamie made a great play. It wasn't very hard for me to put that one in after he made that great pass. It was nice to be involved in a key goal too, to get our rally started."
The Stars took the lead 52 seconds later when Cracknell drove the net and put a backhand shot on goal that rebounded in the net off the stick of Perry to put Dallas up 3-2 at the 6:33 mark.
"For me, there's no other way. I just go in and get pucks to the net as much as possible," Cracknell said.
The Stars got an insurance goal at the 10:51 mark. Jiri set up Eaves, who scored from the slot to make it a 4-2 game. Benn made it a 5-2 game, redirecting a pass from Jordie Benn into the net at the 12:24 mark. That ended the night for Gibson, who was replaced by Jonathan Bernier. Faksa wrapped up the scoring with an empty-net goal at the 13:57 mark.
Notes: McKenzie misses game due to injury
\Stars forward Curtis McKenzie missed Tuesday's game due to an upper-body injury he suffered in Sunday's game at Chicago. Coach Lindy Ruff said McKenzie is not expected to be out too long.
\Stars goaltender Antti Niemi is 6-1-1 at home this season with a 1.99 goals-against average and .938 save percentage.
\The Ducks outshot the Stars 36-27 and had a 74-56 advantage in attempted shots.
\Tyler Seguin led the Stars with 6 shot attempts.
\The Stars were 1-4 on the power play and 4-5 on the penalty kill.
\Jiri Hudler picked up his first point as a Stars, assisting on the Patrick Eaves goal in the third period.
\Eaves' goal was his 11th of the season, which leads the Stars.
\The Stars won 34 of 64 faceoffs (53 percent).
*Johnny Oduya led the Stars with 21:38 of ice time. Esa Lindell was next with 21:04.
What's Next
The Stars play game two of their homestand Thursday, taking on the New York Rangers. This will be the first meeting of the season between the Stars and Rangers.
Stars Lineup
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Jason Spezza
Antoine Roussel - Radek Faksa - Brett Ritchie
Lauri Korpikoski - Cody Eakin - Patrick Eaves
Jiri Hudler - Devin Shore - Adam Cracknell
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis - Stephen Johns
Johnny Oduya - Jordie Benn
Antti Niemi
Kari Lehtonen
Scratched: Patrik Nemeth
Suspended: Jamie Oleksiak
Injured: Curtis McKenzie (upper body), Julius Honka (upper body), Patrick Sharp (concussion-like symptoms), Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (hip)
Watch: Postgame Quotes
Jamie Benn: "We see this homestand as a big one for us. Like you said, it could be make or break and we want to be making something of this."
Dan Hamhuis:"We're on the right track. We are playing better hockey, away from the puck, it's becoming more consistent for us, and if we continue to build on that, we have a lot of wins coming ahead of us here."
Lindy Ruff:"I think it started with Antti and then followed with our key guys up front. Our best players were our best players and it made a big difference for us."
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.