Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
Kings strike Stars, snap streak
Nine games. That's how long it's been since the Kings have defeated the Dallas Stars. They didn't beat them at all last season. And the last time L.A. has defeated Dallas was on April 1, 2006. And if there's as good a chance to beat the Stars, it should be tonight.
Michael Cammalleri is riding a remarkable wave of offense, scoring 10 goals in 10 games. He leads the NHL in goals scored, and is tied for the Kings points lead with Anze Kopitar. Kopitar centers the DAM line with Cammalleri and Dustin Brown, and has been a monster in his sophomore season.
Both teams are looking to extend their winning ways for a third straight game. L.A. has defeated Vancouver and Nashville, while Dallas has topped Columbus and the defending Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks.
Dallas is lead by Larry Hagman. No, not the actor who starred in Dallas, but the 27-year winger from Finland. But the real King Killer is Mike Modano, who has scored 35 goals in 74 games. But he hasn't scored a point in four games. Let's hope he doesn't find his scoring touch tonight.
Starting lineup: Jack Johnson and Modry on Defense. Nagy, Kopitar and Frolov start the game. LaBarbera is making his second consecutive start for L.A. The Kings are playing with the road whites, since Dallas' uniforms are dark. I've always preferred the white unis to the darks anyway. Former Kings Mattias Norstrom gets the starting nod for Dallas on defense.
O'Sullivan goes back to centering Nagy and Frolov. Brown takes Niskanen into the boards, finishing his check to applause. Turco is taking chances, skating out of the crease to stop the puck. It seems he isn't very intimidated by the L.A. wingers.
Lubo gets called for highsticking, and Dallas gets their first chance on the power play. Los Angeles kills it easily. Frolov makes a wide-turn and backhands toward Turco, who gives up a little rebound, and O'Sullivan is right there to tap it into Turco's glove.
Johnson out there with Lubo and makes a break a little too early for Zeiler's pass. Ott takes down Stuart, and stands over him, waiting for something to happen. The Kings are dialed in on defense, clogging the middle and not allowing any clear shots to LaBarbera. Trevor Daley tries to put the wood to Kopitar, who deftly steps away from the Star.
Frolov uses his size to ward off any poke checks from his puck. Looks like his groin injury is fully mended. O'Sullivan continues to impress, as he is everywhere the puck is. He's still sporting the shield for his teeth. Maybe it makes him invulnerable, because he plays like it.
The referee gets knocked down, much to the delight of the Kings fans at Staples.
A pass from behind the net from Brenden Morrow finds Jere Lehtinen's stick in front of LaBarbera, and he knocks it off the post to put Dallas on the board. Mike Ribeiro with the other assist. There was pressure in front placed by the Kings, and Lehtinen threaded the needle for his second goal of the season. It was a nice goal, but it didn't seem to slow L.A. down.
LaBarbera has faced 11 shots, and, for the most part, has his rebounds go to the safer areas off to the side, so his defense can clear them or start something. But the defense looks tentative.
First period: Stars 1, Kings 0
Preissing puts the puck on net, and the puck goes between Turco's pads. He doesn't know where it is, and Zeiler skates in to try and knock it in, and a scuffle breaks out when the whistle blows. It sounds like a penalty will happen, but nothing occurs.
Kopitar, Brown and Cammalleri have a nice exchange deep in Dallas' zone, cycling tight on the attack. But the puck is knocked away by a defender. The only real offensive threat L.A. has had this period.
Michal Handzus is on the line with Zeiler and Raitis Ivanans. Modry gets called for high-sticking, as the fourth ranked power play takes to the ice. After a sketchy penalty kill, L.A. stops them again. The Kings have the 23rd-ranked PK.
A falling Brian Willsie puts it past Turco for his first of the season. Calder has the puck behind the goal, and passes out to Cammalleri, who puts it on net. The rebound finds its way to Willsie's stick, who is knocked down. But as he falls to the ice, he directs the puck past Turco's sprawled pads to tie the game.
Armstrong is centering the line of Nagy and Frolov now, with O'Sullivan there with Willsie and Calder. A little in-game tinkering by Crawford. Brown gets tripped by Norstrom, and Johnson gets called for slashing, so we're skating 4-on-4.
Willsie and O'Sullivan seem to be in sync. Early in their shift, O'Sully tattoos a pass to Willsie, who puts the puck on Turco for a solid chance. Later, Willsie returns the favor by sending a pass to a trailing O'Sullivan, who puts it on net, only to be turned away by Turco.
The Kings are pumping the puck on goal this period, 13-3 in favor for Los Angeles. Zeiler has a nice wraparound attempt, that caught Turco unaware, and almost scored.
Nagy gets a stick to the mouth by a falling Daley, but continues to throw him to the ice.
When Ott gets called for holding, the number one power play in the league takes to the ice. The DAM is out most of the PP, and get a number of chances. But the period ends with the score tied. The Kings had a blistering 19 shots in the second, limiting the Stars to six. And we're all tied up as we go to break.
Second period: Kings 1, Stars 1
Frolov scores his third goal in his third game, when he takes the puck across the zone and pops it in to lift the Kings, 2-1. Armstrong fed Fro the puck from behind the goal, and Alexander skated through pressure to put it on net. Blake is given the second assist.
Immediately, Dallas comes back to put pressure on LaBarbera. The Stars gets several good looks, but is turned away. LaBarbera is given a nice ovation every time he scoops up the puck for a stop.
The third period goal has the fans into the game. Kopitar is taken down at mid-ice by Lehtenen. And L.A. takes to the ice with Fro, Nagy and O'Sullivan. They play the whole shift, and register several good shots on goal, but come away empty.
Dallas is looking sloppy, allowing the Kings to skate in their zone and cycle the puck without any defensive pressure. Johnson has a shot on the point, and the puck bounces to Kopitar, who looks to have an easy goal, but a Dallas defender gums up the works, and Anze skates past the crease without a shot.
O'Sullivan checks Daley in the corner. Johnson gets his second penalty of the game for slashing. With five minutes left, that's a bad penalty. The crowd applauds O'Sullivan's good forechecking as he skates off the ice. He was all over the puck carrier, who couldn't get the puck out of his zone.
Blake plows over Ribiero and gives Dallas a two-man advanatge for four seconds. Johnson's penalty was bad, Blake's was worse. That was a nice hit on Ribiero, though.
LaBarbera has a nice save on a slap shot and the puck is cleared down the ice. Kopitar and Brown have been out there for a long time, and finally skate off. Ribiero turns around and gets a hooking call on O'Sullivan. L.A. has the power play for the rest of regulation. Nagy, Frolov and Calder out to take the PP faceoff deep in Dallas' zone.
The Kings didn't win three games in a row at all last season. They also didn't beat Dallas. Well, they have done both of those things this season, as the Kings hold on to defeat the Stars. Three games in a row, three goals from Alexander Frolov. Coincidence? Perhaps. Alex is a major cog of the Kings' offense, and his production is key if Los Angeles is to remain competitive this season.
Another factor was LaBarbera's strong play for the second straight game. He has allowed only one goal in 140 minutes of action. Looks like he's taken the reins of the goaltending duties for the Kings. IN the locker room, the mood was considerably lighter, as music was playing and players were chatting more. A remarkable turnaround from the last time I was there, when the mood was morose. Strange what winning your third in a row can do to your spirits.
Final score: Kings 2, Stars 1
