Kings defeat Stars for first road game of season

[November 05, 2014]  DALLAS -- Darryl Sutter felt his team's 0-1-3 record through four games of their five-game road trip was a bit deceiving. But the Los Angeles head coach was pleased to see his Kings defeat the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

But it wasn't just the two-goal win that pleased Sutter, who has led Los Angeles to Stanley Cup wins in two of the last four seasons. It was how the Kings won their first road game of the season.

"Yeah, it's a good win," Sutter said postgame. "We deserved points in Carolina, got points in Philly. That's the way it goes."

In a game that was 1-1 after two periods, Los Angeles won the third thanks to goals from right winger Dustin Brown and left winger Kyle Clifford to break the game open.

"It's huge just to get a win," Brown said. "On the road, we've been struggling for results. It was a big win for just the feeling in the room and that can go a long way."

Brown's goal, his second of the season, came 4:23 into the third when he beat Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen with a wrist shot from the slot to give the visitors their first lead.

The Kings then added a third goal at 11:35 when left winger Kyle Clifford scored to make it 3-1.

Dallas falls to 1-1-4 at home.
 

"I'm frustrated," Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said of his team's struggles at home. "That is my responsibility to change this. We're probably halfway there. Tonight I thought we had half the guys."

Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 33 of 34 shots while center Trevor Lewis, who scored the Kings' first goal, a short-handed tally early in the second period, had a goal and an assist.

"He's a good two-way player, takes a lot of pride in playing well both ways. It was very deserving," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said of Lewis' performance.

Dallas, whose winless streak now sits at five games, jumped to an early lead, scoring 2:37 into the game when center Shawn Horcoff sent a wrister over Quick's left shoulder from the slot.

Horcoff was fed by left winger Vernon Fiddler, who received a pass from Dallas defenseman Jordie Benn at the Kings blue line and quickly finished top shelf over Quick's glove side.

After Dallas held a 1-0 lead at the first intermission, the Kings tied it in short order when Lewis scored a short-handed goal 2:55 into the middle frame.

Lehtonen attempted to clear the puck around the boards, but Kings center Jarret Stoll intercepted the puck. Stoll then chipped the puck toward the Dallas goal.

Lewis won a one-on-one battle with Benn inside the left circle, poking the puck past him and into the slot. Lewis was then able to force Lehtonen to the ice and deftly finished into the left side of the Dallas net with a beautiful backhand.

It was the Kings' fourth short-handed goal this season.

Early in the third, Doughty collided with Lehtonen, but Doughty was not whistled for goaltender interference because he had been pushed. Fourteen seconds after that collision, Los Angeles took their first lead when Brown beat an outstretched Lehtonen with a wrister from the slot over his left pad at 4:23. Kings center Mike Richards picked up the primary assist with a pass from the left circle.

Lehtonen appeared partially screened on the play.

Dallas was 0-for-4 on the power play.

"Our mentality on the power play is a big problem," Ruff said. "We gave up a shorthanded goal, which really hurt us."

Another point of contention for Ruff was the 19 giveaways his team had, two led directly to the Kings' last two goals.

"Some of it is just puck management," Ruff said. "When I look at the sheet and I see 19 giveaways, we're not going to win hockey games. Enough of the pond hockey. Enough of open plays."

NOTES: Tuesday marks the first of three meetings between the Kings and Stars over the next 19 days. ... Kings G Jonathan Quick was making his third straight start between the pipes. ... Stars D Sergei Gonchar, who missed most of the preseason and Dallas' first 11 regular-season games with a fractured ankle, made his season debut in the third defensive pairing alongside D Jamie Oleksiak. ... Los Angeles was in the final game of a five-game road trip. ... Dallas RW Valeri Nichushkin was seeing his first action after missing the past nine games with a hip/groin issue. Nichushkin, the Stars' top pick in the 2013 draft, last played on Oct. 11 at Nashville. ... The Kings will host a two-game homestand after completing this road trip. ... Dallas is beginning a three-game homestand, which will conclude on Saturday against its former Pacific Division rivals, the San Jose Sharks.

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