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Bertuzzi's late goal helps Ducks edge Stars

Mar 20, 2008 - 5:37 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Todd Bertuzzi scored a power-play goal with 28 seconds remaining in the third period to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

Defenseman Scott Niedermayer also netted a man-advantage tally for Anaheim (42-25-8), which remained five points behind Pacific Division-leading San Jose (44-21-9). The Sharks clinched a postseason berth with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

"With the playoffs coming, we're working on every aspect of our game," Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "As we get closer, we're playing better. This time of year, you have to be a desperate hockey team."

Captain Brenden Morrow scored a shorthanded goal for Dallas (42-28-5), which fell to 1-6-0 in the month of March and suffered its first loss in seven home meetings with Anaheim.

"We're finding ways to lose rather than ways to win," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "It's a break here or there, but it's a break you have to make."

Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle credited his special teams, which successfully killed a double-minor to Rob Niedermayer midway through the third period.

"We were fortunate the penalty kill did a heckuva job," Carlyle said. "I don't know if (the four-minute power play) was the difference. In the third (period), we had good energy and got involved physically."

With the game tied at 1-1 late in the third period and Morrow serving an interference penalty, Bertuzzi flipped a seemingly harmless backhander from just inside the right faceoff circle that handcuffed Marty Turco.

The veteran goaltender shifted his body in a failed attempt to control the puck, but it dropped into the net for Bertuzzi's 14th goal of the season and second since January 20.

"There wasn't a lot of time," Bertuzzi said. "I just got it to the net as quick as possible."

"Shot at the net and bad angle, I got a piece of it and lost it and it went in," Turco said. "Certainly ones you'd like to have back and can't. It's a save that needs to be made."

Turco was not the only member of the Stars upset about the game-winning goal.

"It was kind of middle of the road," Morrow said of the call which landed him in the penalty box. "With the exception of (Scott) Niedermayer, I could call a penalty on every one of their defensive shifts. I don't like to see a game decided on something that light. It looked a lot worse on replay."

With an assist from Turco, Morrow opened the scoring with 7:16 remaining in the first.

After Turco cleared the puck into the neutral zone, Morrow skated in on a breakaway and wristed a shot between the pads of Giguere for his 28th goal of the season and second while shorthanded. For Turco, it was his third assist of the season.

Scott Niedermayer leveled the contest just 4:08 into the second period.

With Anaheim on a power play, Teemu Selanne wristed a cross-ice pass to Scott Niedermayer, who fired a shot from the top of the right circle between Turco's pads for his seventh of the campaign.