1. Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim: Controlled entire game and had three points

2. Todd Bertuzzi, Anaheim: A physical force and good hands in front of the net

3. Marty Turco, Stars: Dallas would not have been close without Turco's saves

First: Dallas busted onto the scoreboard first – for the 24th time in 48 games – when Niklas Hagman batted down a pass from Mike Modano in the slot and then poked it past Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere at the 3:13 mark. The Ducks came back with a beautiful tic-tac-toe play as Scott Niedermayer started a 3-on-2 rush and also finished it. Niedermayer fed Todd Bertuzzi, who made a spin-o-rama pass to Corey Perry on the goal line, and Perry passed back through the slot to find a wide-open Niedermayer. Stars 1, Anaheim 1

Second: Anaheim dominated the period with strong skating, big hits and key goals. And yet, the Stars trailed by only one goal after the second 20 minutes. The Ducks outshot the Stars, 19-5, in the period and scored when Niedermayer stripped Hagman of the puck behind the Ducks' goal and sent Anaheim off on an odd-man rush. Marty Turco stopped the first shot on goal, but Todd Marchant picked up a rebound behind the net and scored on a wraparound. Ryan Getzlaf scored on a power play after Niedermayer drew a tripping penalty from Brenden Morrow. Loui Eriksson, however, closed the gap to 3-2 when he scored with 23 seconds left in the period off a Hagman assist. Anaheim 3, Stars 2

Third: The Stars came close to tying it, but Nicklas Grossman took a hooking penalty and Bertuzzi scored on the ensuing power play. Turco stopped a penalty shot and a breakaway to keep the game close. Anaheim 4, Stars 2