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Stars kick off road trip in Anaheim

Feb 1, 2014 - 4:45 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - After picking up seven of a possible 10 points on their homestand, the Dallas Stars hit the road for a handful of games beginning on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Stars won the first three of a five-game residency by a 14-1 margin, including shutout wins over Minnesota and Pittsburgh. They dropped a one-goal decision in regulation to Colorado on Monday, then lost 3-2 in overtime versus the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Tyler Seguin scored with 51.5 seconds left in regulation for the Stars, but Jamie Benn took a tripping minor 28 seconds into overtime and the Devils did not wait long to cash in, with Patrik Elias putting home a rebound 40 seconds into the bonus frame.

Benn had a goal and Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals on 24 shots for the Stars, who were held to a season-low 16 shots in the game, with just four in the first period.

"It was a bit of a roller-coaster," Seguin said of the homestand, which now gives way to a three-game road trip. "We had some good moments, we had some tough moments. It's about finding consistency as a group right now."

Both Benn and Seguin have done that as of late. The former has a goal in four straight with nine points over his last five games, while Seguin has notched three goals and eight points over his last four games.

The Ducks opened a five-game homestand with a rare loss at the Honda Center, falling 4-2 to Minnesota on Tuesday. However, they bounced back and avoided a losing streak by notching a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Playing in his 1,100th career game, Saku Koivu set up Daniel Winnik's short- handed goal in the third period and added an empty-netter. Winnik, meanwhile, got his first goal since Oct. 10, Corey Perry scored and Ryan Getzlaf finished with a goal, assist and fight for the Ducks.

Rookie Frederik Andersen made 27 saves to improve to 14-2-0 this season with a 1.94 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

"We preach about it a lot, bouncing back after a loss," Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When I talk about losing streaks following winning streaks, you try to make it a point to not let it snowball. Not that it won't happen, but that's what we talk about."

The Ducks became the first team in the NHL to reach 40 wins, having claimed a victory in 22 of their last 26 games. They are also 22-2-2 at home.

Anaheim may be without forward Nick Bonino tonight due to an upper-body injury, leaving the game versus the Flyers after taking a hard hit in the first period.

The Ducks and Stars have split the first two of three meetings this season, with each team claiming a 6-3 victory at home. Anaheim has won four of the past six encounters overall.