Fast start steers Stars to blowout win against Ducks

Oskar Back and Roope Hintz each scored in the opening five minutes of Dallas' four-goal first period and the visiting Stars cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

Sam Steel and Thomas Harley also scored in the opening period as the Stars won their third consecutive game while matching their season high for goals in a game.

Jason Robertson delivered two goals and an assist while Adam Erne and Ilya Lyubushkin also scored as Dallas improved to an NHL-best 13-2-4 on the road. Hintz and Harley each added an assist, and Miro Heiskanen, Radek Faksa and Mikko Rantanen had two assists apiece.

Casey DeSmith made 23 saves for Dallas, which is 7-2-0 since Tyler Seguin went down with a knee injury Dec. 2.

Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund scored goals for the Ducks, who are 9-10-1 since opening the season 11-3-1. Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal stopped 3 of 7 shots before he was pulled in the first period in favor of Petr Mrazek, who turned aside 14 of 18 shots.

The Ducks lost to open a run of seven consecutive games in Southern California.

Back opened the scoring 2:37 into the game while the Stars were short-handed. Faksa forced a turnover behind the Ducks' goal and fed Back, who lifted the puck to beat Dostal. It was the first short-handed goal allowed by Anaheim this season.

After Poehling responded less than a minute later, Hintz gave the Stars the lead again at 2-1 just 4:42 into the game.

Steel put Dallas up 3-1 at 12:41 of the first period, getting credit for the score even though he knocked the goal loose as the puck crossed the line. Harley scored at 14:19 of the period as Dallas went up 4-1.

The fourth goal prompted the Ducks to pull Dostal.

Robertson scored on the power play at 11:10 of the second period, then added another on a backhand four minutes later, his team-leading 22nd of the season making it 6-1.

Erne added a goal with 90 seconds left in the middle period.

Anaheim outscored Dallas 2-1 in the third period with the outcome no longer in doubt.