Recap: Los Angeles vs. Dallas
Sports Network | November 12, 2008
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Alexander Frolov scored the winner in the fifth round of a shootout, boosting the Los Angeles Kings to their third straight win, 3-2, over the Dallas Stars in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll had the regulation goals, while Anze Kopitar tallied two assists for the Kings, who beat Dallas for just the fifth time in the last 17 meetings. Erik Ersberg made 19 saves in the win.
"He played well obviously, but to do what he did in the shootout is good stuff," said Kings coach Terry Murray. "You have to get some stops in those situations against top scorers in the game and he came up pretty large for us."
Jere Lehtinen, playing his first game of the season due to a groin injury, scored for the Stars, who have lost two straight and four of five games. Mike Modano had the other regulation goal, but was denied by Ersberg to end the game. Marty Turco stopped 24 shots in the loss.
It was an ugly scene with a minute left in the third period. Dallas' Mike Ribeiro wheeled and fired a shot from the right circle, but immediately after shooting the disc he was pounded from behind into the boards by Brown. Ribeiro was left bloodied and remained on the ice while Brown and Brenden Morrow locked up in a fight.
"It's hard in that situation, when you see a guy off balance like that," said Turco. "It wasn't necessarily a dirty hit, and Ribeiro is a strong player."
Ribeiro was taken to the locker room, but came back later to score in the shootout.
Brown was given a pair of five-minute majors, one for fighting and another for boarding, along with a game-misconduct. Morrow was also assessed three penalties, a two-minute instigator, a five-minute major for fighting and a 10- minute misconduct, leaving Dallas with a three-minute power play.
The Stars pressured the LA zone in the final minute, but couldn't get a decent scoring chance, and the game went to overtime.
Brad Richards' shot from the right circle was stopped by Ersberg with 3 1/2 minutes left in OT. Philippe Boucher's rocket one-timer was deflected away from the net a minute later.
LA's Wayne Simmonds scored in the second round of the shootout on a backhander up high, but Ribeiro made a brilliant move to tie it at the end of round three, nearly stopping his body with the puck in front, and reaching his stick back to tuck the disc by Ersberg.
In the fifth round, Frolov scored on a wrister between the legs of Turco, and Modano was then stopped by the glove of Ersberg on a high shot.
Stoll scored 6:50 into the game on a two-man advantage thanks to a tripping penalty on Modano and another call for too many men on the ice for the Stars. Kopitar directed a pass to Stoll, who blasted a one-timer from the right circle for the goal.
Lehtinen tied it at the 14:17 mark of the same period by snapping the puck from the left circle past Ersberg. but Brown gave the Kings the lead again 2 1/2 minutes later. Turco stopped Kopitar's shot from the slot, but Brown scored on a sharp angle from the left of the net.
Modano evened the game again at 9:46 of the second. Sergei Zubov sent a cross- ice pass to Modano, who scored on a sharp angle from the right side, near the boards.
This was the conclusion of a season-long seven-game homestand for the Kings, who will play at Dallas on Thursday...LA was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Dallas was 0-for-3...This was Stoll's 300th NHL game.
