Pahlsson Does It All for Ducks

Samuel Pahlsson did the expected and the unexpected all in one play and it allowed the Mighty Ducks to do the unexpected Monday night.

As the end of a critical four-game trip was in sight, the Ducks fought off any sign of fatigue and broke through against a longtime nemesis with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. Pahlsson’s goal late in the third period at American Airlines Center helped put it away.

The goal by Pahlsson, his sixth of the season, allowed the Ducks to pass the Kings and the idle Edmonton Oilers into sixth place in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

It also gave the Ducks (34-21-12) their first victory in five tries against the Pacific Division-leading Stars and marked their third consecutive win after starting the trip with a loss in Detroit.

“We are finding ways to win right now which is the sign of a good team,” Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “We battle, we battle, we battle. When the other team scores a goal, sometimes at the beginning of the year we’d hang our head a little bit. Now we just keep working even harder.”

It was apparent as the Ducks kept plugging away even though the Stars’ defense limited them to a season-low 18 shots. With under four minutes remaining, Pahlsson took the puck away from Dallas defenseman Janne Niinimaa on the side board and moved in for a quick wrist shot that soared past the Stars’ Marty Turco on his stick side.

Putting pressure on Niinimaa is how Pahlsson earns a living. Scoring game-winning goals usually isn’t part of the job. “It was a bad angle,” said Pahlsson, downplaying the moment. “I didn’t have anyone with me so I just shot it and found a hole.”

It capped a fine night for the unassuming 28-year-old checking center as he helped shut out the Stars’ big scorers, Mike Modano, Jason Arnott and Jere Lehtinen.

“You need to have guys who score goals and guys who play tons of roles,” center Andy McDonald said. “He’s probably one of the best at what he does in the league.

“He shut down their first team most of the night and got a goal. That’s a bonus for us.”

McDonald started the third-period rally when he and Teemu Selanne teamed for a goal at the 5:57 mark while the teams were on a four-on-four situation for offsetting roughing penalties on the Ducks’ Rob Niedermayer and Dallas’ Willie Mitchell.

Selanne slid a pass over to McDonald, who one-timed a slap shot that skipped over Turco’s glove as the goalie slid toward the right post.

“Teemu made a great pass to me and I had time to shoot it, said McDonald, who had three goals on the trip. “I think it jumped up a little bit when I shot it. That’s probably what fooled him. We’ll take it.”

Behind a tight defensive effort, Giguere made 24 saves and was only beaten by Antti Miettinen’s power-play goal in the second. The Ducks have won six of seven and picked up points in 10 of their last 12 games.

“I think we have a lot of confidence in each other,” Giguere said. “We know that when we work hard and follow the game plan the coach puts in place, we have a chance to win every night.”