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Smith, Jokinen help Stars hand Ducks another loss

Feb 11, 2007 - 12:43 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- The Dallas Stars again managed just one goal against the Anaheim Ducks. But this time, Jussi Jokinen's tally was enough.

Jokinen scored a power-play goal and rookie Mike Smith made 32 saves as the Stars skated to a 1-0 triumph over the Ducks, who have lost seven of their last 10 games.

Anaheim entered with a 3-0-1 record against Dallas this season, winning each of the previous three meetings while limiting the Stars to a single tally. The Ducks remained stingy in this one, but their offense was unable to solve Smith, who posted the third shutout of his career.

The 24-year-old backup of All-Star Marty Turco, Smith turned aside 10 shots in the first period and six in the seconds before being forced to make 16 saves in the final session. He received a bit of luck in the middle period as Corey Perry lost his footing during a breakaway, and made a brilliant save on Andy McDonald midway through the third, sticking out his left pad to block a chip shot from the crease.

"The kid made some big stops," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "They tried to keep to the outside, we had our chances and we weren't effective enough to find the back of the net."

Smith, who also led Dallas to a 1-0 blanking of Nashville on November 22 by making 17 saves, has not allowed a goal in 119 minutes, 7 seconds.

"I don't think about things like the shutout streak," he said. "All I wanted to do was go out there and give my team a chance to win, and we got two big points today. The boys were outstanding in front of me and we battled for a full 60 minutes today, because that's a good team over there."

With Anaheim's Travis Moen in the penalty box early in the third, Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov made a long pass from his own blue line to Jokinen. After receiving the puck just outside the offensive zone, Jokinen split a pair of defenders and skated in alone on goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, sliding the puck just inside the left goalpost at 4:13 for his 11th goal of the season and second in 20 games.

"I tried keeping it similar to the shootout," said Jokinen, who is 5-for-8 in the bonus format this season and 15-for-21 lifetime. "Zubie is one of the best passers in the league, and he sprung me with a great pass. ... I didn't get the shot I wanted. I wanted to go a little higher. I was lucky it went in."

"He did a great job of picking (the puck) up," Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger said. "I don't think the pass was intended for him."

Smith made the tally stand, despite the Ducks having a power play for the final 36 seconds of the period. Anaheim, which entered third in the league with the man advantage, went 0-for-6 in the game and is scoreless in its last 16 opportunities overall.

"I think we have not executed to the level we are capable of, specifically on the power play," Carlyle said. "Our execution level is nowhere near the level we need it to be to have success. We need to get more desperate on the power play."

"Nothing is going right on the power play," Pronger added. "Really, that's been beating us. There were a couple power plays that we did not even get set up."

Niklas Hagman also assisted on the lone goal for the Stars, who improved to 2-0-0 on their season-high five-game homestand.

"This was a big win," said Dallas' All-Star defenseman Philippe Boucher, whose team is 4-0-1 in its last five home games and climbed within six points of first-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division. "They've been on top all year long. Hopefully, if we play well, we'll get a chance to catch them at the end."

Giguere made 20 saves for the Ducks, who remain four road wins away from tying the franchise record of 19 set in 1993-94, their inaugural NHL season.

"He played great," Pronger said of his netminder. "He made a couple of great stops to keep it 0-0, but as a group, we need to do a better job in front of him."