SoCal NHL Preview

Dallas (43-29-6) at Anaheim (44-27-8), 5:00 pm

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - After suffering through their worst stretch of the season, the Dallas Stars broke out in a big way on Saturday. They will look to hang on to that momentum when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

After climbing to within four points of the best record in the Western Conference less than a month ago, the Stars had fallen on hard times, going 1-7-1 in nine games before Saturday. They had managed just 17 goals in those nine contests, never scoring more than three in a game. But Saturday was a different story as Dallas jumped all over the lowly Los Angeles Kings, 7-2. Just 5-of-41 on the power play in their previous nine contests, the Stars converted 3-of-5 opportunities with the man advantage against the Kings. Loui Eriksson tallied twice and Mike Ribeiro assisted on three goals while Brendan Morrow scored for the 31st time this season. They also turned up the defensive pressure in the victory, limiting Los Angeles to 14 shots on goal in the game, the fewsest they had allowed since December 21, 2005. Though its hopes of a Pacific Division title were lost when its rough stretch coincided with the San Jose Sharks' 8-0-2 10-game stretch, Dallas can still grab second place in the division and the No. 4 seed in the West playoff picture if they can get by the Ducks.

Anaheim has won five of its last seven games and currently holds a four-point edge over Dallas for the fourth spot. Anaheim has three games left, one fewer than Dallas. The Ducks fell to the Sharks, 3-1, on Friday and have not posted more than two goals in any of their last five games. Their defense has made up for the drought, with Scott Niedermayer improving his play to make up for the loss of former Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger, who is not due back from an NHL-imposed eight-game suspension until April 6. The Stars have had their way with Anaheim this season, posting a 5-2-0 record against their division foes. The Ducks, however, took the latest matchup, 2-1, on March 19.