ANAHEIM, Calif. – For the better part of a decade, the Pacific Division has been dominated by the Stars, Ducks and Sharks – and that seems to be the case again this season.

That makes games between those three teams all the more important.

"I think we definitely have rivalries with those two teams," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow before facing the Ducks on Tuesday. "We've been battling with them for a couple of years. And if you look at games between us, they are competitive games, great games. It definitely feels different than just our normal games."

The Stars next will visit San Jose on Thursday. Heading into Tuesday's game, the Sharks led the division with 57 points, two points ahead of the Stars and three ahead of the Ducks. Last season, Anaheim finished in first with 110 points, while the Sharks and Stars each had 107.

A win in just one game for Dallas or San Jose could have flipped the seeding in the playoffs and possibly changed the postseason last year. As it was, the Ducks won the Stanley Cup.

"That just goes to show you it really does all matter," Stars goalie Marty Turco said. "Who knows what game – or what play – is going to make or break the season. And it all gets magnified in games like this. You can look at certain games or certain plays and say, 'that's where we won,' or 'that's where we lost.' It creates pressure, but it also creates adrenaline. That's the fun part of sports."

And the Stars have had their share of fun against the Ducks. Dallas is on a 6-0-1 run against Anaheim, including 3-0-0 this season heading into Tuesday's game. The Ducks, meanwhile, have won five of six against the Sharks this season, and the Sharks are 3-2-0 against Dallas.

"I'm not sure, but I think San Jose has Dallas' number too," Ducks defenseman Sean O'Donnell told the Los Angeles Times. "So it's kind of like, Dallas has ours, we have San Jose's and San Jose has Dallas'. It doesn't make sense."

And while Anaheim has wins against the Sharks, four of the five games this season have gone to overtime or a shootout.

"Every time I watch those two teams play, it seems to go to overtime," Morrow said. "I know when we play those two, a lot of games go to overtime. That's how close the three of us are. It just seems like there's no space ... ever."

There's no space in the standings and there's no space on the ice. The teams play especially hard against each other knowing what's on the line. When they don't, the results can be tough. Dallas beat the Ducks, 5-0, this season.

"You have to be prepared to play the game at a high level or you'll get embarrassed," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

Stars coach Dave Tippett said if the team starts worrying about what other teams are doing, it's just a frustrating exercise.

"You wonder why we always say, 'worry about what you can take care of,' " Tippett said. "You do what you can, and you try to be at your best. And you hope at the end of the season, it all works out for you."