For Mighty Ducks, a Royal Coup : Hockey: They beat Dallas for third time and overtake Kings for first time.

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The Mighty Ducks beat the Dallas Stars for the third time in three meetings Friday.

All of their goals in a 3-2 victory in front of 16,801 at Reunion Arena came on power plays.

They won for the 12th time this season and for the seventh time on the road.

They were outshot, 28-17, yet won.

And they passed the Kings and took sole possession of fourth place in the Pacific Division.

“It’s strange,” Coach Ron Wilson said.

He was referring to the Ducks’ dominance of the Stars, who are in second place in the Central Division. “We just seem to have their number.”

As for overtaking the Kings, Wilson said, “I thought when we tied them the first time (on Dec. 1) that would be as close as we ever got all year. Here we are at Christmas, passing them.”

Jarrod Skalde scored two of the goals, scoring his second and third of the season since playing his first game with the Ducks last Sunday.

He was called up from minor league San Diego after center Anatoli Semenov’s elbow injury last week.

Skalde, 22, was taken from the New Jersey organization in the expansion draft, but he didn’t make the team out of training camp.

“Going to Anaheim, all summer my buddies were saying this and that,” he said. “Everybody expects you to make the team. You feel like you’re letting everybody down when you don’t.”

Skalde scored 33 points in 23 games at San Diego, and when he got back to Anaheim he was apparently ready.

“He probably got his confidence. He certainly got his confidence,” Wilson said.

The Ducks played spirited defense in front of Guy Hebert. He made 26 saves, but his scoreless streak ended at 116 minutes 57 seconds when Mike Craig gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 13:01 of the first.

“We’re playing real hard-nosed, gritty defense,” Hebert said. “Bobby Dollas, Randy Ladouceur, everybody’s going down and blocking shots. They’re playing physical, moving guys out from in front of the net so I can see. They’re making smart plays at the right time.”

Dave Gagner extended his point streak to 12 games only with an assist on Craig’s goal.

Skalde got the Ducks even on a power-play goal at 2:36 of the second, and put them ahead at 16:19 of the period with another power-play goal.

The Ducks led, 3-1, after a goal at 9:31 of the third that was initially credited to Todd Ewen, but Ewen informed the official scorer it was scored by Steven King.

Dallas made it 3-2 at 13:39 of the third, on a goal by Russ Courtnall.

The Stars’ best chance to tie came with 1:44 to play, when Dave Gagner picked up a loose puck in the right circle as the Ducks’ Ladouceur and Craig tangled. Gagner skated into the wide-open slot and tried to deke Hebert, who stayed with him all the way and prevented the game-tying goal.

“It’s great,” Wilson said. “Winning in Toronto (on Wednesday night) allowed us to relax, so there’s no pressure to come home with a win on this trip.”

Duck Notes

Defenseman Sean Hill left the game with a rib injury and X-rays were being taken to determine the extent of the damage. The Ducks might have to make an emergency recall of San Diego defenseman Anatoli Fedotov unless either Mark Ferner, who sat out with a charley horse, or Hill is able to play Sunday at Chicago. . . . Right wing Jim Thomson, who has been bothered by a persistent shoulder injury and has appeared in only six games, has returned to California for further evaluation. . . . Left wing Garry Valk sat out a second consecutive game after being bumped by teammate Stu Grimson during warm-ups Wednesday at Toronto. Valk is being cautious because of the aftereffects of a concussion last week.