HOT TEAM GOES COLD
STARS SHOOT PAST KINGS IN OT, 3-2
DALLAS, TX -- Brendan Morrow scored at 3:53 of overtime to lift the
surging Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles
Kings, in front of 18,532 fans at the American Airlines Center in
Dallas on Wednesday night.
Jere Lehtinen and Richard Matvichuk added goals for Dallas.
Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy scored for the Kings.
The Stars, who won their fourth straight game, and are 6-2-0-0 in
their last eight games, have found their way again, after some
mediocre play since the beginning of the season.
In suddenly stark contrast are the Kings, who had been one of the
hottest teams in the league throughout December and January.
But when February came around, the Kings began to struggle, despite
stealing points in a number of games they played poorly in, and had no
business winning.
And now, for the first time since before December, the Kings have gone
winless in two games or more, with an 0-2-1 winless streak.
Despite their poor play of late, the Kings remain in the playoff
picture, moving down just one notch into seventh place in the Western
Conference.
The Kings are tied in points with the Stars (71), but the Stars have
one more win, so they passed the Kings with the win.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Kings' current slump has been their
lack of offense. In fact, in their last three games, they have scored
just three goals, and were shutout by lowly Columbus last Saturday.
And apparently, combining the talents of Jason Allison, Adam
Deadmarsh, and Palffy on one line is not working after two games in
which they combined for sixteen points.
"Change is part of hockey," Deadmarsh said. "Lines get hot, lines get
cold. When they are hot, other teams adjust. In the two games we
didn't score, we had some chances. They just didn't go in. That
happens."
But the Kings are also worried because none of their other lines are
scoring.
"When one group is doing all the scoring, a team is easier to shut
down," said Kings' defenseman Mathieu Schneider. "You take them away
and there is nothing to back it up. Coaches have to move things around
and [Kings' interim head coach Dave Tippett] has done a great job
putting the right groups together. Tonight we needed a change."
With the Kings having trouble scoring, the Stars just clamped down
hard defensively, and with strong goaltending from Marty Turco, they
shut down the Kings at even strength, outscoring them, 2-0.
Dallas allowed two power play goals, but being unable to generate
offense at even strength is a formula for failure, and this game was
no exception.
"This was very disappointing," Tippett said. "Everyone is so bunched
up right now in the West. It's going to be like this the rest of the
way."
"It was going to be a tight game all the way and it makes for good
hockey," Tippett added. "Every point is a desperate point. That's why
giving that extra one to them tonight is so disappointing, because
points are so important right now."
"When you battle for points and give up one in overtime, it's tough,"
Deadmarsh said. "You just have to move on."
"We had come back twice," said Kings' goalie Felix Potvin. "But
instead of picking up the pace, we seemed to let down a little in
overtime."
"It's disappointing because we tied them up late in the third on the
road like that," Potvin added. "We should have played probably tighter
in the overtime and made sure they didn't have any [opportunities],
but they came pretty good at us."
As the Kings have gone cold, the Stars have just gotten hotter, this
after little more than mediocre play prior to the Olympic break.
"Before we would play one or two games and then fall back," Morrow
said. "Now we're playing really well defensively, our goalie is making
big saves and good things are happening."
"We're just three points back," Morrow added about the Stars setting
their sights on the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks. "Two
weeks ago, it seemed so far away, and now we're playing so well. We're
working for everything we're getting."
"Maybe a couple weeks ago we were hoping we were going to get the
bounces," Morrow explained. "We were playing well, but we weren't
really focused. Now we're focused, and we're playing well, and we know
how we're supposed to play to win."
"We just keep talking about points," Stars' interim head coach Rick
Wilson said. "We didn't want to give up a point in overtime and that
was the message on the bench. We're able to tie them in the standings
and still have a game in hand. It's big."
One of the reasons for the Stars' recent success has been the play of
Marty Turco, who was the NHL's Player of the Week last week.
"[Allowing the Kings to tie the game in the third period] could have
drained us emotionally," Turco said. "But we found a way to win it in
overtime, and that's just a strong testament to how the whole week has
gone. That's our mission, and we're staying on the path."
"Right now, everything's fun," Turco added. "The wins keep piling up,
and that's my main goal. "You're always disappointed to give up the
tying goal near the end of the game. But in overtime, I didn't have to
make very many saves before Brenden came through."
"You're always disappointed when you give up the tying goal at the end
of the game," Turco explained. "But in overtime we played hard and got
the extra point."
The Stars' hot play of late could be a huge problem for the Kings, but
they are not surprised that the Stars are back in the thick of things.
"They don't have a much different team than they had in the past,"
Deadmarsh said. "You can't write them off. They've proven that they're
a good team and a great playoff team. There is no reason to think that
they're not going to be as good."
"Somewhere, they've lost a little bit of their identity this year,"
Tippett explained. "But by no means can they be underestimated. I
think they're starting to get it back and they'll be a team to be
reckoned with."
And unless the Kings get back on their game very quickly, no one will
have to reckon with them when the playoffs come around.
Scratches
---------
Dallas: Rob Dimaio, Sami Helenius, John Sim (all healthy)
Los Angeles: Jere Karalahti, Andreas Lilja, Adam Mair (all healthy)
Goalies
-------
Dallas: Marty Turco
Los Angeles: Felix Potvin
Referees: Terry Gregson, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Andy McElman
First Period
------------
The Kings got some good scoring chances, but they were few and far
between, as the Stars played very well defensively.
1. DALLAS. Lehtinen 17 (Pierre Turgeon, Martin Rucinsky), 12:48
Stars' defenseman Darryl Sydor held the puck in the Kings' zone at
left point. He passed to Lehtinen, who was along the right wing
boards. He passed to Rucinsky in the left corner, and he pushed the
puck to Turgeon, who was behind the net. As he was about to be hit,
Turgeon passed from behind the left goal post to Lehtinen, who had
gotten away from Kings' center Bryan Smolinski. Lehtinen took the
centering pass at the bottom of the left circle, and moved across the
low slot. Potvin went down--he made the first move--but Lehtinen held
the puck until he was just outside right crease, where he flipped the
puck over Potvin and into the net.
This was a very poor defensive shift by the Kings. They were a step
behind the Stars throughout the shift, and then Smolinski lost his man
and to make matters worse, Kings' defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky left
the front of the net to go after another man. Very bad defensive
decisions by Smolinski and Visnovsky handed this goal to Lehtinen.
Second Period
-------------
The Kings could not get anything done on five-on-five situation, but
their power play came through...
2. LOS ANGELES. Deadmarsh 22 (Allison, Schneider), 12:32 POWER PLAY
With Stars' forward Pat Verbeek off for hooking at 11:19, Modry got
the puck in the left circle. He carried it to the top of the slot,
where he passed to Schneider at right point. Schneider threw a
one-touch pass to Allison, who was above the left face-off dot.
Allison got off a one-timer that was tipped in front by Deadmarsh, and
the deflection beat Turco over his glove (left arm).
The play was reviewed by the video goal judge, checking to see if
Deadmarsh's stick was above the height of the cross bar, but the goal
stood.
"There was doubt," Deadmarsh said. "I knew it would be close, so I was
a little concerned."
3. DALLAS. Matvichuk 8 (Jamie Langenbrunner, Mike Modano), 15:03
With Smolinski in the box for hooking at 13:23, Modano got the puck in
the right circle. He passed to Langenbrunner, who was behind the net.
He took a stride to his right, and passed from behind the left goal
post to Matvichuk, who snuck in from left point. From the left
face-off dot, he fired a one-time blast that beat Potvin low, under
his right leg pad.
It is tough to blame the goalie for giving up a goal when the other
team is on the power play, and the penalty-killers in front give up a
one-timer from below the face-off dots. But Potvin appeared to still
be moving across just a bit when Matvichuk's shot came in--Potvin was
not ready for the shot. Borderline soft goal.
Third Period
------------
The Kings played a bit better in the third period, and they managed to
tie the game...
4. LOS ANGELES. Palffy 22 (Modry, Schneider), 17:11 POWER PLAY
With Stars' forward Scott Pellerin in the box for hooking at 16:35,
the Kings were moving the puck well. Schneider knocked down a
clearing attempt at right point, and then moved the puck to the middle
of the ice. From the top of the slot, just inside the blue line, he
passed to Modry, who was above the left circle. He moved to a point
high in the left circle, and then passed across the slot to Palffy,
who was wide open at the right face-off dot. Palffy fired a low
one-timer that beat Turco through the five-hole as he moved across.
Overtime
--------
The Stars had all the good scoring chances in the overtime period...
5. DALLAS. Morrow 11 (Sydor), 3:53
As Modry, Smolinski and Visnovsky fumbled the puck in the neutral
zone, Matvichuk and Morrow knocked the puck away. Sydor got to it, and
passed ahead to Morrow on left wing. Sydor and Matvichuk made a
beeline to the front of the Kings' net, as Morrow moved into the left
circle. From below the left circle, he fired a low wrist shot, right
between Deadmarsh's legs, and he beat Potvin low, just inside the
right goal post.
There was no chance for Potvin on this one. He was screened by
Deadmarsh and at least one Dallas player.
"It went behind the crowd," Potvin said. "I got a piece of it, but it
just went under my arm."
"I wanted to pass it," Morrow explained. "I saw Turg going to the net,
but guys were in the lane and wouldn't let the pass go through,"
Morrow said. "That bought me some time. I threw it at the net hoping
for a rebound--and it found a hole."
"It was sort of a bobble in the neutral zone and I was able to pick it
up," Sydor said. "I gave Brendan the pass, not a real good pass, but
he was able to control it. I just went to the net and it was a great
shot."
Shots on Goal
-------------
Dallas: 13 7 7 4 -- 31
Los Angeles: 9 8 8 1 -- 26
Power Play Conversions
----------------------
Dallas: 1/3; Los Angeles: 2/3
Zone Time
---------
Unavailable at press time
Three Stars (official)
----------------------
#3 - Lehtinen; #2 - Deadmarsh; #1 - Morrow
Gann's Three Stars
------------------
#3 - Turco; #2 - Lehtinen; #1 - Morrow
Next Game: On Thursday, the Kings welcome back head coach Andy Murray
when they skate against the Nashville Predators at the Gaylord
Entertainment Center in Nashville. Game time: 5:00 PM PST. NO
TELEVISION COVERAGE. Radio coverage begins at 4:30 PM with the "Inside
Hockey" pre-game show on KSPN AM-1110 (ESPN Radio) in the Los Angeles
area.
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