ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Dallas Stars clinched a playoff spot,

and then lost in a shootout for the first time.

Rob Niedermayer and Jonathan Hedstrom scored against Marty Turco

and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped Dallas shooters Anti Miettinen

and Jussi Jokinen as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks took a 5-4 shootout

victory over the Stars on Friday night.

Trailing 4-3 late in the third period, Anaheim tied the score on

a goal by Andy McDonald and then became the first NHL team to beat

the Stars (11-1) in a shootout.

"If you looked back in September and told us in March we

wouldn't have a shootout loss, we'd say that would be real good,"

Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "In two weeks there are no

shootouts."

The victory allowed Anaheim (38-23-12, 88 points) to move into a

fifth-place tie with Colorado (88 points). The Ducks have played

one less game than the Avalanche.

"We needed that," Niedermayer said. "We had two losses in a

row and the way everyone else has been playing, we needed to get

back on track."

Dallas locked up a playoff spot by earning a single point in its

first shootout loss.

"We had some success and it was probably going to come to an

end sooner or later," said Stars forward Brenden Morrow. "Those

were huge points for us all season long."

Morrow had broken a 3-3 tie with a power play goal 95 seconds

into the third period. Anaheim failed to convert on two power play

chances later in the third, before McDonald took a centering pass

from Teemu Selanne and sent the puck past Turco with 2:18 to play.

After neither team could score in the extra period, Giguere

stuffed Miettinen on the opening Dallas attempt of the shootout.

Niedermayer had never taken a shootout shot, but he showed

little apprehension, firing the puck over Turco's right shoulder.

"He had been scoring a lot in practice and we talked to him

about it three weeks ago," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "He

delivered."

Giguere then stopped Jokinen, and Hedstrom scored on Turco, to

clinch the Anaheim win.

"I just didn't want to make the first move," said Giguere, who

was 2-7 in prior shootouts. "Just let them come to me and react on

their move. I got lucky on the first one, I'm just glad we go the

win."

Anaheim set a new franchise record with their 11th win in March,

and denied the Stars their franchise-record 12th in the month.

Dallas has won eight of its last 10 games, with both losses

coming to the Ducks.

"I think we were prepared well and we knew what to expect,"

Morrow said. "There were some lapses. It was pretty sloppy out

there for both teams."

A centering pass by Chris Kunitz deflected off a Dallas defender

and past Turco just 31 seconds after the opening faceoff to give

Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Samuel Pahlsson also had a first-period goal

for Anaheim.

Jeremy Stevenson and Stephane Robidas scored for Dallas in the

opening period.

The Stars took their first lead of the game, at 3-2, when Jason

Arnott re-directed a pass from Morrow past Giguere 6 minutes into

the second. But Todd Fedoruk raced to a loose puck in the slot off

an Anaheim clear to tie the score at 3-3 at the end of two periods.

Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer assisted on Fedoruk's goal,

setting a new career high with his 58th point of the season.

Niedermayer's previous best was 57 during the 1997-98 season.Game notes
Dallas defenseman Sergei Zubov was held out of the lineup

with a lower body injury. Anaheim forward Jeff Friesen was a

healthy scratch for a second consecutive game. ... Selanne's first

period assist was his 300th with Anaheim. ... The Stars have scored

a power-play goal in 10 consecutive games.