Ducks' Boudreau calls blown lead vs. Stars 'demoralizing'

The Anaheim Ducks appeared on the verge of shaking off some early season frustrations Tuesday in Dallas. And then it all fell apart.

Bruce Boudreau's club built a 3-0 first-period lead over the Stars, scoring half as many goals in those 20 minutes as they'd recorded in the previous eight games. The Stars chipped away at that lead and came out as victors, however, thanks to a late game-winner from Antoine Roussel.

Boudreau was understandably dejected by the result, as evidenced by his postgame comments.

"It's a 3-0 lead. You should not (lose) a game like that. We won't sugarcoat it - it's demoralizing," he told reporters, adding: "I'm at a loss right now. We fell asleep, lost composure. We can't say we ran out of gas."

With the loss, the Ducks - who will be without star center Ryan Getzlaf for the immediate future due to appendicitis - dropped to 1-6-2, with nine goals for and 25 against.