ANAHEIM, Calif. – What a difference a Conn Smythe Trophy winner makes.

The Stars had ravaged Anaheim this season, winning the first three games against the Ducks by a combined scored of 10-2.

But that was while Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer was contemplating retirement.

On Tuesday, Niedermayer had a hand in just about everything good the Ducks did as Anaheim took a 4-2 win over the Stars and moved to 10-2-2 since his return.

"I don't get surprised anymore," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "I've been fortunate enough that he's been on our hockey club for three years. The things he does and how effective he can be with or without the puck, it doesn't surprise me. He dominates in a lot of areas."

Carlyle called Niedermayer's three-point game "the best game he's played this year."

When asked if Niedermayer makes that much difference for the Ducks, Stars captain Brenden Morrow said: "Yeah ... Yeah he does."

The loss drops Dallas to 25-18-5 (55 points), third place in the Pacific Division.

The Stars are now 2-6-1 in their last nine games. Anaheim surges to 25-17-6 (56 points) and takes over second in the division. San Jose, which lost to Phoenix, 5-3, on Tuesday, falls to 25-13-7 (57 points) but retains first place in the division.

Dallas plays at San Jose on Thursday night.

While the Stars need to be concerned with the top of the division, they also need to be aware of the bottom. The hard-charging Phoenix Coyotes moved to 24-20-1 (49 points) with their win against San Jose and have played three games fewer than the Stars.

"I'm worried about us, not anybody else," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "If we don't start playing better, then it's our fault – not anyone else."

The Stars were clearly overmatched by the Ducks. Anaheim outshot Dallas 36-24, including 19-5 in the second period. The Ducks went 2-for-7 on the power play against Dallas' top-ranked penalty killers, and the Stars went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Niedermayer clearly made the Ducks better. He had a direct hand on Anaheim's first three goals and helped establish a presence in the second period that turned the game in the Ducks' favor. On Anaheim's first goal, Niedermayer started an odd-man rush and then capped it with a goal. He then made one of his more amazing plays of the game near the midpoint of the second period. After playing almost a full power play, Niedermayer stayed on the ice for the next shift and stripped Niklas Hagman of the puck as the two battled behind the Ducks net.' Niedermayer then skated the puck out and started a rush the opposite direction. Niedermayer assisted on an eventual wraparound goal for Todd Marchant to put the Ducks up, 2-1.

AP

Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco uses his skate to block a penalty shot.

A few minutes later, Niedermayer drew a tripping penalty from Morrow and then assisted on the ensuing Ryan Getzlaf power-play goal.

Niedermayer's third point of the night (a goal and two assists) tied his career record for points in a game – the 15th time he has tallied three points in a game.

Dallas closed the gap to 3-2 on a Loui Eriksson goal with 23 seconds remaining in the second period (Hagman had an assist for his second point of the game), but the Ducks secured the win in the third period.

Niedermayer didn't have a hand in the fourth goal. Todd Bertuzzi lifted a perfect shot over Marty Turco on the power play.

Turco had a fantastic night in goal, stopping Chris Kunitz on a third-period penalty shot (Turco has now stopped 10 of 11 in his career) and also stopping Brandon Bochenski on a third-period breakaway.

"He was under siege a lot of times," Tippett said. "We got beat in the special teams game, we got beat in the physical game, we got beat on the scoreboard, all the way around."

So how do the Stars fix that?

"I think first of all, you look in the mirror at yourself and what you can do to help your team," Morrow said. "Before you start pointing fingers, you've got to take care of what you can control."