Mighty Ducks 2, Stars 1

DALLAS (AP) - Samuel Pahlsson's job is to bottle up the other team's top scorers. The Anahim Mighty Ducks' checking specialist showed he can also come up with a timely goal.

Pahlsson's score the tiebreaker with 3:15 remaining and the Mighty Ducks ended Dallas' eight-game home winning steak with a 2-1 victory over the Stars.

Pahlsson also turned in a strong effort on the defensive end, helping keep Dallas' high-scoring centers Mike Modano and Jason Arnott without a point.

"He's a pro," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "That's what he's here for...(he's) capable of doing those things."

With the score tied 1-1, Dallas defenseman Janne Niinimaa turned the puck over to Pahlsson deep in the Dallas zone and Pahlsson got his sixth goal of the season past goalie Marty Turco from the left circle.

"There was a turnover there, I kind of came in at a bad angle," Pahlsson said. "There was no one with me so I shot it. Luckily it found a hole."

Anaheim, winner of seven of its last nine, moved into sixth place in the tight Western Conference, one point ahead of Los Angeles and Edmonton.

Antii Miettinen had a power-play goal for the Pacific Division-leading Stars, whose home streak matched the second-longest in franchise history. Miettinen's score on a rebound gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 3:19 of the second period.

Andy McDonald tied it with his 25th goal of the season at 5:57 of the third period while the teams skated 4-on-4.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 24 saves for the Mighty Ducks, who won three times on the four-game road trip that ended Monday night.

"We're finding ways to win right now and that's the sign of a good team," Giguere said. "We battled and battled after we fell behind. We used to hang our heads when we got down. Now we work even harder. The way we came back at the end, you can't call that fortunate."

Anaheim lost its first four meetings with the Stars and the Mighty Ducks were 5-22-2 all-time in Dallas.

"These guys have had our number since I've been with the Ducks, it seems, especially in this building," Giguere said. "We've got three more against them and this one gives us confidence. That's good for us."

Turco, who stopped 16 shots, came up with a key save on Rob Niedermayer's power-play deflection at 3:58 of the second period.

Dallas, which had won its previous four games, held an 8-3 shots edge in a scoreless and listless opening period.

"We sensed during this morning's skate-around that there wasn't much energy," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "Whatever it was, I thought there were a lot of guys that played below par tonight."