Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Dallas Stars 3, Los Angeles Kings 2

By Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

The Dallas Stars finally got back in the win column. Brendan Morrison scored two power play goals to lead the Stars to a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center Tuesday night, ending the team's seven-game winless streak.

"A win is a win," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "We did a lot of good things tonight. We played well with the puck."

The win was the team's first since a 3-2 overtime win over Minnesota on March 14. The two points moved the Stars, who are in 12th place in the Western Conference, to within six points of the final playoff spot with five games remaining in the regular season.

"I think we pretty much have to win out if we want a chance. But who knows what can happen," Morrison said. "We just want to play solid hockey right until the end."

The Stars' special teams, which have been struggling during the team's slide, came up big in the game. The power play was 2-5 on the night and the penalty kill shut down a lengthy five-on-three chance for the Kings at a key point in the second period. Marty Turco was back in goal for the Stars and stopped 26 of 28 shots on the night.

"I thought both goals were soft, but I thought our team played really well," Tippett said. "He made a couple of key saves at key times -- that penalty kill in the second period. We didn't do it all, but we did enough to win. That was one of our better puck play games in a while and we defended better."

The two teams traded first period goals. Stars center Mike Ribeiro opened the scoring when he scored from behind the net by banking the puck off Kings goalie Jonathan Quick 14:49 into the game.

A little more than three minutes later the Kings answered when Jack Johnson scored on a shot from the point after the Los Angeles won an offensive zone draw.

The second period and the game turned on special teams play. The Stars took the lead 1:55 into the second period when Mike Modano set up Morrison, who beat Quick with a one-timer from the left side.

The Stars penalty kill then stepped up midway through the second period, killing off back-to-back Los Angeles power plays that included 1:11 of five-on-three time.

The Stars extended the lead on another power play goal at 15:19 of the second when Morrison scored off a blast from the left circle. It was Morrison's sixth goal in the last ten games.

“It’s nice to get a win, it’s been a frustrating couple weeks,” Morrison said. “It’s been tough for me personally this year and I feel like I still have a ways to go, to where I can contribute on a nightly basis like this. I just want to have a good finish, show a lot of pride and work hard.”

The Kings did score late, getting an Anze Kopitar goal with 1:31 remaining to make it a 3-2 game. But they couldn't get the tying goal and the Stars were able to head home with a win under their belts.

"Even though we gave up a bad goal at the end, we were able to get [the win]," Tippett said. "And that's a positive sign."

Pegasus News content partner - Andrew's Stars Page
Stars Stats, Schedule, Roster, and Blog

See more stories in:

• Hockey > NHL > Stars