ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A special night for Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano ended with yet another businesslike victory for their Dallas Stars.
Ben Bishop made 27 saves in his 33rd career shutout, and Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist in the Stars' sixth consecutive win, 3-0 over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.
Denis Gurianov and Alexander Radulov scored power-play goals for the Stars, who completed a sweep of back-to-back games in Southern California and remained unbeaten since Christmas.
“I think we are just sticking to our game plan," said Bishop, who also picked up an assist during his second shutout of the season. “We knew that they were going to be a desperate team. I thought we did a good job all three periods. Special teams was huge. It was the difference in the game there.”
The game was a warm homecoming for Perry and Cogliano, who returned to Anaheim for the first time since joining the Stars last year. Both veteran forwards had lengthy careers as mainstay forwards for several outstanding Ducks teams, and both received long standing ovations from the Honda Center crowd after video tributes in the first period.
“I thought it was tough,” Cogliano said. “Just different being on the other side. I thought it was a little difficult to play sometimes and to really get to my game, but I thought it was good. You do what you've got to do. A lot of emotions coming back and playing through it.”
Perry had to watch from the stands with his family while he served his suspension for elbowing Nashville's Ryan Ellis in the Winter Classic.
After five consecutive comeback wins, Dallas didn't even have to rally from behind for the first time during this streak.
Dallas also capitalized on an incorrect high-sticking penalty against Anaheim's Max Jones in the second period, with Radulov scoring his 13th goal on the ensuing power play. Video replay clearly showed the stick of Stars defenseman Roman Polak had hit teammate Jason Dickinson in the face instead.
“It's always frustrating, but those things happen quickly out there,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “The ref was quick to apologize, and we just have to take it like that.”
John Gibson stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, who played without leading goal-scorer Jakob Silfverberg. The Ducks were conciliatory after the officials' blatant mistake, realizing their overall results won't change if they can't score a goal themselves.
“It happens,” Jones said. “We're all human, right?”
In their final home game for nearly three weeks, the Ducks were shut out for only the second time this season despite being the Western Conference's lowest-scoring team. Anaheim has lost five of six overall.
“One or two goals, and it’s the hockey game,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “I’m not disappointed with the effort. We made a couple of mistakes that ended up in our net. We have to find ways to score goals. It’s a tough league to do it in. We have to find a way here.”
Hintz added an empty-net goal with 3:04 to play.
Perry spent the first 14 seasons of his NHL career with Anaheim, winning the Stanley Cup in 2007 shortly after he broke into the league alongside Ryan Getzlaf, his longtime linemate. Perry won the 2011 Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and racked up 372 goals and 404 assists with Anaheim, making him the third-leading scorer in Ducks history.
The Ducks bought out the final two seasons of Perry's contract last June after a season plagued by injury and declining production.
Cogliano spent 7 1/2 seasons in Anaheim before the Ducks traded him to Dallas last Jan. 14 amid similar production problems. A superb forechecker and speedy penalty-killer who lacks only a consistent scoring touch, Cogliano played a key role on five consecutive Pacific Division championship teams for Anaheim, frequently on a line with Silfverberg and injured center Ryan Kesler.
“Probably the best memories of my career, playing in Anaheim,” Cogliano said. “It was pretty special.”
NOTES: Silfverberg, the Ducks' lone All-Star selection, incurred an upper-body injury in Tuesday's loss to Columbus. Max Comtois returned to the lineup in his place. ... Stars D John Klingberg missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Perry is three games into his five-game suspension. He should have another chance to play in front of Ducks fans when the Stars visit again April 1.
UP NEXT
Stars: At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday to complete the California portion of their trip.
Ducks: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday to open a five-game road stretch spanning the All-Star break.
