The Los Angeles Kings (28-17-6) beat the Dallas Stars (34-18-1) 5-4 in a shootout on Friday night, in what was a hard-fought battle from start to finish. Kevin Fiala had two points, as well as a shootout goal, and David Rittich made 26 saves in the win.
Matt Duchene scored twice and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves for the Stars.
Game Recap
Warren Foegele scored his 14th goal of the season 11 seconds into the contest, jumping on a rebound and giving the Kings the early 1-0 lead. Duchene tied the game up with two seconds left in the period on a wrist shot from the high slot, scoring his 19th of the campaign.
Halfway through the second period, the Kings had prolonged pressure in the offensive end, in large part due to Dallas defenseman Lian Bichsel having a broken stick. At 8:16, Fiala shot the puck through the stick-less Bichsel’s legs, beating Oettinger for the 2-1 lead.
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Thomas Harley answered back for the Stars 73 seconds later, jumping on a rebound in the low slot for his eighth goal of the season, tying the game 2-2. On the goal, Duchene picked up his 500th career NHL assist.
Alex Laferriere put the Kings back in front 3-2 at 11:43 of the second as Quinton Byfield’s one-timer missed the net and bounced in front off the boards for an easy tap-in for Laferriere.
Mavrik Bourque tied the game for the third time, jumping on a massive rebound in the slot from a Jamie Benn shot, putting the puck past a diving Rittich for his seventh goal of the season. Duchene scored his second of the night on a wrist shot from the right circle, giving the Stars their first lead of the night.
Anze Kopitar tied the game up yet again, 4-4, on a slap-pass right to his feet in the crease that deflected off of his skates and into the net.
With 36 seconds left in OT, Fiala thought he had his second goal of the night and the game-winner, but it was overturned due to goaltender interference by Drew Doughty. If Fiala scored in overtime, it would have been his third straight multi-goal game. He would later get his revenge, scoring a shootout goal, along with Adrian Kempe, sealing a 5-4 shootout victory.
The Kings outshot the Stars 37-33. Both teams went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Up Next
Both teams are back in action on Saturday night. The Stars will finish their West Coast road trip, taking on the San Jose Sharks. The Kings will host the Anaheim Ducks.
