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Morrow, Hagman lead Stars over Ducks

Jan 21, 2008 - 1:19 AM By John Tranchina PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DALLAS (Ticker) -- With the Pacific Division lead on the line, captain Brenden Morrow, Niklas Hagman and the Dallas Stars delivered one of their best performances of the season Sunday.

Missing several key players, including All-Star defenseman Sergei Zubov, the Dallas Stars persevered and gutted out a 5-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks.

The Stars jumped past the Ducks and into first place in the division, extending their winning streak to three games and handing Anaheim its first regulation loss in 10 games. The Ducks went 8-0-1 in their previous nine games, including a six-game winning streak.

"Right from the start, there was a lot of pushing and shoving from both sides," said Hagman, who scored two goals to set a single-season career high of 18.

In a physical battle that featured several big hits and plenty of scrums after whistles, the Stars maintained their composure, unlike in their 4-2 loss in Anaheim on Tuesday.

"There was a lot of electricity up in the air, and it was nice to see quite a few fans, too, even though there's football games going on," Hagman said.

"For us, it was a huge win. The last time we played them, I don't think anybody thought we played the way we wanted. It's good to be back leading the division right now."

After defenseman Stephane Robidas, who took Zubov's place on the power-play unit, staked the Stars to a 1-0 lead with a man-advantage goal in the first period, Dallas broke open a tight game with an explosive final session.

Morrow scored twice and Hagman notched a shorthanded tally and an empty-netter in the period.

"We're not going to win every game, but you can expect us to play to our level," said Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who gave up four goals on 26 shots. "We're facing teams that are going to be desperate. Dallas was desperate. Every team's desperate at this point.

"Every game's a four-point game. We're fighting Dallas and San Jose for the top spot in the division."

Morrow gave Dallas a 2-0 lead 3:18 into the third, as he received a pass from Mike Ribeiro, kicked the puck to his stick and trickled it past a sliding Giguere.

"There's a guy that really poured himself into games and has really taken a dominant presence out there," Stars netminder Marty Turco said of Morrow. "He's our leader, he's our captain and his game mirrors how we want to play. You don't have 20 other Brenden Morrows out there, but we're pretty happy with the one that we've got."

The goal was reviewed, but the replay showed that Morrow did not direct the puck into the net with a distinct kicking motion.

"I thought it was kicked in a little bit," Giguere said. "Somewhere, there was a kicking motion in there. But it's hard to argue when they review it."

Hagman's shorthanded tally at 7:59 put Dallas ahead, 3-0, as he converted a breakaway, lifting a wrist shot over Giguere's shoulder.

Defenseman Mathieu Schneider narrowed the gap 46 seconds later with a blast from the blue line on the same power-play opportunity.

But Morrow scored again just 13 seconds afterward, banging in Ribeiro's feed from behind the net and squelching any momentum by the Ducks. It was Morrow's 19th goal of the season and third in the last two games.

"I knew Ribs had the puck behind the net, and he's usually going to put it on my stick, so I just tried to make sure I got it on net," Morrow said. "I got pretty good wood on it and it popped off my stick pretty good."

Ryan Getzlaf netted his 19th of the season - extending his NHL-long scoring streak to 14 games - at 13:10, roofing a one-timer from the slot over Turco after Corey Perry dished it to him from behind the net.

But Hagman sealed the victory with an empty-netter with 2:09 remaining.

"They played better than us, they executed to a greater level," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We got frustrated and didn't play our game. We didn't do anything with the puck, for whatever reason. We're going to turn the page. I guarantee you we're not going to keep the tape on this one."

The Stars jumped to a 1-0 lead at 9:28 of the first period on Robidas' second goal of the season.

With Todd Bertuzzi in the penalty box for high-sticking, Robidas drilled a slap shot from the high slot that sizzled past Giguere. It was the Stars' first power-play tally in four games, snapping an 0-for-11 slump.

"Those are valuable minutes we're losing without Zubov, but nobody's going to feel sorry for us," Morrow said. "Somebody's just got to go out and take charge and step up and control those minutes, and Robi did a great job. A little bit more opportunity on the power play and he got one in."

Later in the opening period, Morrow stepped out of the penalty box, received a long pass from Robidas and raced in on a breakaway. But Giguere made the save on his wrist shot from the slot.

"You can't come into this building and take only nine shots in the first two periods and think you're going to win," Giguere said. "You can't play 20 minutes and hope to win in this league. You've got to put in 60 minutes."