Ducks routed by Stars; Meyers acquired from the Avalanche
After two airtight games between the Ducks and Dallas Stars earlier this season, the Central Division leaders left little doubt about the pecking order in the West as they downed the fledgling Ducks 6-2 at Honda Center on Friday night.
Ryan Strome scored a goal and assisted on Alex Killorn's power-play marker for the Ducks. John Gibson made 30 saves on a night to forget for the hosts. Troy Terry (upperbody) and Mason McTavish (lower-body) both returned to action. Ben Meyers, who was acquired from Colorado in a trade Friday morning, made his Ducks debut, hitting the net twice and winning eight of 10 faceoffs.
On the night of the trade deadline, the Stars' acquisition Chris Tanev scored a rare goal, but scoring was anything but uncommon for
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Dallas. Roope Hintz compiled a goal and two assists. Veterans Jamie Benn and Joe Pavelski notched a goal and an assist apiece. Radek Faksa and Mason Marchment each scored a goal. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen both contributed two as- sists. Jake Oettinger stopped 25 shots.
The Stars, who extended their division lead to four points, carried a commanding 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Their previous meeting with the Ducks went to overtime in Dallas and they won an equally narrow decision in regulation at Honda Center in the third game of the season.
Just 74 seconds into the game, Tanvev's harmless heave from the blue line grew menacing after a glancing blow off Terry's stick sent it skyward, over Gibson, behind him and into the net.
DUCKS GET MEYERS FROM AVALANCHE >>
The Ducks
THE SCORE
STARS 6, DUCKS 2
Up next: Islanders at Ducks, Sunday, 5 p.m., BSW
SUMMARY
Dallas Ducks
First Period:
1, Dallas, Tanev 2 (Hintz, Lindell), 1:14. 2, Dallas, Hintz 26 (Benn, Heiskanen), 17:19 (pp). 3, Dallas, Faksa 5 (Pavelski, Steel), 18:56. Penalties: Dellandrea, DAL (Interference), 10:07. Groulx, ANA (Holding), 16:16.
4, Dallas, Benn 11 (Robertson, Heiskanen), 5:31 (pp). 5, Ducks, Strome 11 (Vatrano, Mintyukov), 6:06. 6, Dallas, Marchment 19 (Robertson), 14:18. Penalties: Gudas, ANA (Delay of Game), 4:56. Lindstrom, ANA (Holding), 11:21.
7, Ducks, Killorn 11 (Fowler, Strome), 4:13 (pp). 8, Dallas, Pavelski 22 (Duchene, Hintz), 7:18 (pp). Penalties: Tanev, DAL (Hooking), 3:39. McTavish, ANA (Tripping), 5:17. Gudas, ANA (Tripping), 6:18. Dellandrea, DAL (Holding Stick), 7:47. Marchment, DAL (Tripping), 18:18.
Dallas 20-6-10: 36. Ducks
Second Period:
Third Period: 3 0 2 1 1 — 6 1 — 2 Shots on goal:
Power-play opportunities:
Goalies:
8-5-14: 27;
Dallas 3 of 5. Ducks 1 of 4;
Dallas, Oettinger 25-11-4 (27 shots-25 saves). Ducks, Gibson 13-21-2 (36-30); 16,000 (17,174). T: 2:31.
A:
acquired center Ben Meyers from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the upcoming draft.
Additionally, the Ducks claimed defenseman William Lagesson, who had been placed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The additions were a departure from the theme of subtraction to this point, with the Ducks having traded Sam Carrick, Adam Henrique and Ilya Lyubushkin ahead of Friday's trade deadline and having dealt Jamie Drysdale to the Philadelphia Flyers in January.
Meyers, 25, was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the best amateur player in the U.S. in 2022, when he cocaptained Golden and piled up 41 points in 34 games. He also competed for the U.S. at the 2022 Olympics, registering four points in four games.
At the AHL level, Meyers accumulated 49 points in 62 games over the past two campaigns, including 24 in 30 games under Ducks coach Greg Cronin.