The Ducks turned over a new maple leaf.
For two weeks they muddled through seven consecutive games against nonplayoff-bound Canadian teams that took them out of their structure and, to hear them describe it, left them unenergized.
The Ducks were eager for an elite opponent and it showed Sunday with a 3-1 victory against the Dallas Stars that put Anaheim back into first place in the Pacific Division.
Playing without several injured players, the Ducks fittingly took the short-handed route with short-handed goals by Nate Thompson and Ryan Kesler, and goalie John Gibson reached 20 victories for the first time in his career in an up-tempo game at Honda Center.