Star power sells everywhere, but that seems to be especially true in Southern California.

Whether it is Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paris Hilton, Sidney Crosby, or Evgeni Malkin, Southern Californians love celebrities. And in the hockey world, it often seems the high-profile players have a top-notch game when playing in the glitz and glitter of SoCal. Just ask Alex Ovechkin, who recorded his first career hat trick last winter at the then-Arrowhead Pond.

Monday night at the arena now known as Honda Center, Crosby and Malkin did not find a similar fate. The young superstars recorded just one assist each as the hometown Anaheim Ducks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in overtime.

The Ducks picked up a point for the 15th consecutive game to start the season, tying the record set by the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers. Under the rules of that era, the Ducks actually have one loss -- an overtime defeat to the New York Rangers -- but there is no denying Anaheim is on a roll.

Through much of the first fourteen games, the Ducks relied on a strong power play for their offense. Yet on Monday, the Ducks scored just once in eight power play opportunities in regulation time.

Fast forward to overtime, and Pittsburgh's Noah Welch was issued his third minor of the night -- this time for tripping -- just 21 seconds into overtime. Anaheim's Teemu Selanne tripped on the Welch's stick in a clearly inadvertent play, but at the same time, the trip did prevent a possible scoring chance.

On the ensuing power play, Scott Niedermayer made a perfect pass across the crease to Selanne, who was driving to the left side of the net from the left faceoff circle. Pittsburgh goaltender Jocelyn Thibault had no chance on the play, and the Ducks recorded their 11th win of the season.

Penalties were the theme of the game, as the Penguins found themselves shorthanded nine times and on the power play just twice. Some of the calls seemed to be borderline, but in the so-called new NHL, the standards are still being sorted out.

The Ducks started on the right foot when Chris Kunitz opened the scoring just 3:29 into the opening stanza. Kunitz was stationed at the left side of the slot and did his best Brett Hull impression, going to one knee to one-time a pass from Selanne and beating Thibault to the short side.

Just 21 seconds later, Dominic Moore brought the puck out of the right corner and skated into the low slot, where he deked goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to tie the game.

Midway through the opening period, the Crosby and Malkin show started to get on track. Crosby impressively won a battle in the left corner and found Malkin inside the left point. Malkin's shot was stopped, but Chris Thorburn was stationed at the left side of the crease and batted home the rebound. The goal was Thorburn's first in the NHL and came almost immediately after being teamed with Crosby and Malkin for the first time.

It looked like a delayed replay when Anaheim's Corey Perry tied the game on the power play midway through the second frame. This time, it was Scott Niedermayer's shot from inside the left point that was stopped by Thibault and Perry who fired home the rebound from the left side of the crease.

The Ducks dominated the game after a slow opening period, outshooting Pittsburgh 40-17 overall and 32-11 after the first 2o minutes. With the Pens spending 14:34 shorthanded, Crosby and Malkin struggled to get ice time for much of the game. By the time it was all said and done, Crosby played 19:29 and Malkin 19:45, but much of that time was spent in the defensive zone as the Ducks again showed an aggressive forecheck.

Thibault was the main reason the Pens escaped with a point, as he was spectacular in just his second appearance of the season. He was inexplicably left out of the three stars, but he could not be faulted on any of the three goals. Even an average goaltending performance would likely have yielded at least six goals to the Ducks, who were firing on all cylinders after the first intermission.

The crowd of 16,599 -- disappointingly short of a sellout by a little more than 500 -- was enthusiastic and featured roughly 3,000 Penguins fans. Many fans were late for the game, as long security lines to enter the arena continue to be a major problem.

THREE STARS: Homerism is a common complaint for three star selections in several arenas, but the problem seems to be amplified in Southern California. Despite scoring two goals -- including the game winner -- Malkin was denied a star last week in Pittsburgh's overtime win at Staples Center.

It was the same story Monday, as Anaheim received all three stars in their overtime win at Honda Center.

As a result, Grimm's Tales will begin doing our own three stars, starting with Monday's game below.

FIRST STAR: Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim. A perfect pass on the overtime winner capped off a solid night at both ends for the blueliner.

SECOND STAR: Jocelyn Thibault, Pittsburgh. Thibault stood on his head to send this game to overtime.

For those who have not noticed -- such as the Southern California media -- the Anaheim Ducks are off to a pretty decent start.

Wednesday night at Honda Center, the Ducks made it 13 games with an undefeated record -- sort of, anyway. For the fourth time this season, the Ducks lost beyond regulation time, this time in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers.

The loss was the Ducks' first non-shootout loss, as Anaheim previously fell to Minnesota, Dallas, and the New York Islanders in shootouts. Still, the Ducks became the first team since the 1994-95 Pittsburgh Penguins to start the season with points in their first 13 games.

Considering Anaheim's five shootouts and one overtime loss, the Ducks would be 7-1-5 under the traditional NHL standings -- still pretty impressive.

The scary part for the rest of the Western Conference? The Ducks are far from reaching their potential, as they continue to be dogged by inconsistent play. At times, Anaheim continues to take too many penalties -- last night, the Rangers were 2 for 9 with the man advantage. At the same time, the Ducks failed to convert on six power play opportunities.

Wednesday was the exception rather than the rule when it comes to special teams. As one would expect from a squad with Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer manning the points on the power play, the Ducks have been solid with the man advantage this season. Anaheim is 13 for 63 -- 20.6 percent -- good for seventh in the NHL.

Anaheim's penalty kiliing has been equally impressive, killing off 70 of 80 (87.5) shorthanded situations. Those numbers are good enough for sixth in the NHL, giving the Ducks a very solid special teams situation. The concern has been five-on-five play, where the Ducks have alternated between very impressive and very average through the first month of the season.

When the special teams falter, the Ducks turn to their forecheck to provide a spark. On Wednesday, Anaheim managed just five shots in the second period, yet two of them found the back of the net. Both goals -- the first by Chris Pronger and the latter by Ryan Getzlaf -- were unassisted tallies created by an aggressive forecheck.

The Ducks are at their best when they play their forechecking-based system to perfection, and there have been times when the forecheck is relentless. If Anaheim can figure out how to translate that to a full 60-minute -- or as it often seems in their case, 65-minute -- effort every night, it could be a while before they face their first regulation loss.

NOT A NICHE SPORT: As mentioned earlier in the column, the Southern California media seems to be ignoring Anaheim's hot start -- as well as hockey in general.

The lack of hockey coverage in sunny SoCal is nothing new, but it has been taken to new levels this year. The Los Angeles Times has pledged to cut their hockey coverage by 80 percent, and they seem to be doing their best to stick to the promise. Meanwhile, the Ducks find 35 of their telecasts on KDOC, a fuzzy, below-the-radar television station.

You see, in the eyes of much of the Southern California media, hockey is a niche sport. The term is usually reserved for sports such as water polo and equestrian, yet the term has been applied to hockey by certain media members.

Most surveys indicate roughly 10% of Southern Californias are avid hockey fans. When it comes to percent of the population, nobody will argue Southern California is Hockeytown. Yet when you consider the population of the region is roughly 20 million fans, that means there are 2 million avid hockey fans in the area.

In other words, close to twice the metro population of solid hockey markets such as Calgary, Edmonton, and Buffalo.

Evidently, there were not many math majors in the Southern California media.

THONGS, ANYONE? Marketing hockey in Southern California is a little different than in traditional hockey markets. If you do not believe that, take a look at the ECHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs.

The Ice Dogs have been a well-kept secret for the past decade. The team plays entertaining hockey on the waterfront in revitalized downtown Long Beach and tickets start at the price of a movie ticket.

In the competitive Southern California market, that is not necessarily enough. To create attention, the team has done some very impressive promotional giveaways, including figurines, bobbleheads, and touques.

On Nov. 17, the Ice Dogs are going in a very different direction from the previous giveaways. Referred to as "Desperate Housewives Night," the team is giving away thongs to the first 2,500 fans.

No, they do not mean the sandal-style footwear. Hey, it is California, after all.

The website makes no mention whether the underwear will be given only to women, or whether men will also be recipients of the giveaway.

Again, it is California, after all.

It has often been noted the sign of a good hockey team is a team that finds a way to win without playing at the top of their game. With that in mind, the Anaheim Ducks looked like a great team Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

Despite a lethargic attack that included just 21 shots on goal -- 17 in regulation time -- the Ducks clawed their way to a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings. Dustin Penner's goal at 14:10 of the third period set the stage for the shootout heroics of Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf, but much of the game looked anything but stellar for the Ducks.

Los Angeles outhustled and outplayed the Ducks in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Lubomir Visnovsky and Michael Cammalleri while outshooting Anaheim 11-5. Anaheim rookie Ryan Shannon picked up his first career goal just 2:03 into the second period, but the Ducks still struggled through much of the game.

The Ducks managed significant stretches of sustained pressure in the offensive zone in the third period, but even then, they were limited to just five shots on goal as Los Angeles kept Anaheim on the perimeter for much of the period. The forecheck, so effective two nights earlier against Minnesota, was unable to get established on a regular basis until the third period. Even Anaheim's normally-infallible defense looked rather human through much of the game.

If so many things went wrong Sunday, why are Anaheim fans so optimistic about the game? Very simple, really. For perhaps the first time in franchise history, the Ducks are good enough to play below their peak level and still come out with a win many nights.

Top teams often do not look like they are at the top of their game, while it is the borderline playoff teams who seem to be expending the most energy and playing at the top of their game every night. For the top teams, it seems there are many nights where they are not dominant, yet they come away with the win. Colorado was notorious for this during the late 90s, yet they were always at the top of the standings when April rolled around.

For a taste of just how good this Ducks squad can be, check out last Friday's game against Minnesota. The Wild came in looking to make a statement, as five of their first six games were at home en route to their impressive 6-0-0 start. Minnesota dictated the pace of the game in the first period, as the Wild's lightning-quick forwards kept Anaheim hemmed in their own zone for most of the stanza.

Everything changed in the second period as Anaheim got their forecheck going to near-perfection. By the end of the period, the Ducks led 2-1 behind goals from defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Sean O'Donnell. Anaheim dictated the pace of the game, getting significant sustained pressure and creating several solid scoring chances.

Minnesota was unable to get many scoring chances in the third period, as the value of having Niedermayer and Chris Pronger on the same team was very evident in the final stanza. When the Wild did get a chance, Jean-Sebastien Giguere looked like the Giggy of the 2003 playoffs.

So while fans may have seen the Ducks at their best and their worst over the weekend, the squad came away with four points in two games. The sign of a great team? Anaheim fans certainly hope that is the case.

NEW GAME TIME HAS AN IMPACT: Despite an impressive 6-0-2 start, the Ducks are averaging a middling 14,487 fans at the Honda Ponda through six home games. One reason for the sluggish attendance might be the new 7 p.m. starts -- in the past, Anaheim's home games started at 7:30 for non-Sunday tilts.

Thirty minutes might not seem like much, but for fans fighting Southern California traffic, it can be an eternity. Fans need to hit the road earlier now, and a 30-minute earlier arrival time can often require a 60 to 90-minute earlier departure time at that time of day.

Add in lengthy security lines entering the arena -- the Honda Center is one of the few NHL arenas requiring wanding of all fans -- and the problem becomes evident. A fan leaving work at 6 pm from ten miles away (there is very little corporate business immediately adjacent to the Honda Center) is unlikely to arrive until game time, and they are likely to be greeted by lengthy security lines -- while the game is already underway.

The Ducks did a poll at their select-a-seat this summer and stated the fans voted for the 7 p.m. game times. Results of the poll have not been made public, but most season ticket holders would likely vote for 7:30 starts after seeing the thousands of empty seats at game time this season.

WHAT WOULD AVERY DO?: Remember the "What Would Jesus Do" craze of the late 1990s? Often shortened to WWJD, it became a religious and fashion statement to wear t-shirts, bracelets, etc., with the slogan.

Fast forward to 2006, and one of the hottest fashion trends at Staples Center is t-shirts with a monochrome deity-like sketch of Sean Avery, with large letters stating WWAD. The sub-heading reads "What Would Avery Do?"

Regardless of your feelings on the... err, "shift" disturber, it is hard not to get a chuckle out of the t-shirts.