The Ducks and their veteran goaltender celebrated a milestone moment with a hard-fought win over one of the NHL's top teams, tonight downing the previously red-hot Dallas Stars 2-1 at Honda Center.
The win, Anaheim's fifth in the last six games (5-1-0), pushed the club to 23-24-6 on the season, seven points back of a Western Conference Wild Card spot.
John Gibson made Ducks goaltending history in the win, becoming the first netminder to appear in 500 games as a Duck. Gibson, also the club's all-time leader in starts and saves, turned aside 26-of-27 Dallas shots, capturing his ninth win of the season.
The win, Gibson's 202nd in the NHL, also moved the 11th-year Duck within four of J.S. Giguere (206) for the most in franchise history.
Cutter Gauthier and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim, with the latter breaking a 1-1 tie early in the third period. Robby Fabbri, Alex Killorn and Olen Zellweger added assists, helping the Ducks improve to 2-0-0 against its former divisional foe this season.
Colin Blackwell scored the lone goal for the Stars, who fell to 34-18-1 on the season and saw their winning streak halted at five games. Goaltender Jake Oettinger, who will represent Team USA at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, made 26 saves.
Gauthier gave Anaheim the night's first lead with just over two minutes to go in the opening period, following up on Fabbri's drive to the net and quickly swiping home a bouncing puck after a Stars poke check knocked it free.