Stars retake second wild card with OT win against Ducks

ANAHEIM --Jamie Benn scored 53 seconds into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Thursday.

Ryan Suter and Andrej Sekera scored, and Jake Oettinger made 21 saves for the Stars (38-25-3), who moved one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
"Every game from here on out is huge," Benn said. "We've got to find a way to win games, and we did that tonight."

Jamie Drysdale and Kevin Shattenkirk scored, and John Gibson made 32 saves for the Ducks (27-30-12), who have lost 11 straight (0-8-3).
"That's what playoff hockey looks like," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "There's no room, and it becomes frustrating. For some of our guys who haven't been through it, that is a good experience."
The Ducks tied the score 2-2 with 3:21 left in the third period when Shattenkirk scored on a deflection from the slot.
"I love how we stuck with it at the end there," Shattenkirk said. "We gave up that late goal but our mindset on the bench was, 'Let's go out there and keep playing and hope for our chance.'"

The Stars had taken a 2-1 lead with 4:09 remaining. Sekera, who was in the lineup because defenseman Esa Lindell was a late scratch with an upper-body injury, got to a loose puck in the slot and scored with a one-timer. It was Sekera first goal of the season and first since May 5 (32 games).
The Ducks were outshot 14-4 in the first period and Oettinger didn't make his first save until 8:02.
"I didn't think we were ready to play," Eakins said. "We didn't come out in that first period with a lot of anger."
Suter scored on a power play to give the Stars a 1-0 lead at 9:59 of the first period.
Isac Lundestrom was in the penalty box for interference on Tyler Seguin when Seguin's shot into traffic was kicked away by Gibson, but Suter was in position to backhand the puck into the net for his sixth goal of the season.
"I got stuck over on that side and the puck just kept coming to me, so I was just trying to make plays," Suter said. "Seguin made a good shot and the rebound was just there."

The Stars had gone 0-for-3 on the power play in each of their previous three games to drop to 11th in the NHL in power-play efficiency (22.7 percent), one spot ahead of the Ducks (22.4).
"When you're struggling [on the power play], you've got to simplify," Suter said. "Shots on the net, make rebounds and then making plays off that rebound. It was good for us to get that and, hopefully, we can build on that now."
Trevor Zegras took the fifth shot on goal for Anaheim at 4:28 of the second period, but the Ducks didn't take another until 11:32.
Anaheim tied it 1-1 with 40 seconds left in the second period.
The Ducks won a face-off in the Stars zone and Drysdale's shot from the right point went off the end boards. The puck then hit Oettinger's left skate, which was positioned near the right post, and slid across the goal line for Drysdale's fourth goal of the season.
"Definitely a lucky bounce," Drysdale said.
The Ducks went on their third and final power play when Alexander Radulov tripped Simon Benoit at 10:41 of the third period, but Oettinger made three saves during the power play.
"It wasn't the smoothest game," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "It was a little choppy."
NOTES:The Stars improved to 10-1 in overtime. The Ducks are 5-7. ... Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen played 27:23 after playing 19:56 in the 3-2 win against the Ducks on Tuesday, his first game back after missing 11 with mononucleosis. ... Dallas forward Denis Gurianov was a healthy scratch for the second time this season. Marián Studenič replaced him in the lineup and had one shot and a takeaway in 9:44. ... Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury. ... Ducks forward Adam Henrique returned after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury and assisted on Drysdale's goal. ... Ducks defenseman Urho Vaakanainen assisted on Shattenkirk's goal for his first point with Anaheim in two games since he was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on March 21. … Anaheim has been outscored 44-21 in the skid.