The Kings extended their season-long winning streak to four games on Wednesday night with a comeback effort against the Dallas Stars. It was a slow start for the Kings on this occasion, but a strong response in the final 40 minutes of regulation resulted in two points for the team.
Coming off of the multi-day rest, the Kings needed time to find their legs. Unfortunately, that came at a cost in the first period. An early penalty 40 seconds in put the Kings down a man and after killing off nearly the whole two minutes, a breakdown from the Kings in the dying seconds of the Stars power play resulted in a Wyatt Johnston goal at the 2:34 mark. The Stars dominance of the period only grew from there and they doubled the lead just over 10 minutes after their first goal. Stemming from a turnover by the Kings in their defensive end, Mason Marchment picked up the loose puck, turned and fired through a screen, beating a blinded David Rittich. Lucky to be trailing by only a pair of goals, the Kings went into the first intermission down on the scoreboard and down 11-4 in the shot department.
The Kings clawed back into the game in the early stages of the second period. Getting the Kings on the board was Tanner Jeannot at the 4:40 mark as he followed the play after missing the net. A big rebound off the end boards worked its way back in front of the net and Jeannot got stick on puck and puck into net before Stars goalie Jake Oettinger could seal the post. Jeannot’s goal was his third of the season. Then, the Kings tied the game up at 2-2 with 4:22 to go in the second period off of a successful face-off win in the offensive zone. After Anze Kopitar cleanly won the puck back, Kyle Burroughs, who returned to the Kings lineup for the first time since November 7th went D-to-D to his partner at the time Joel Edmundson. Edmundson one-timed the pass and beat Oettinger with the help of some net-front traffic for his fourth goal on the year.
The Kings entered the third period tied for the third consecutive game and for the third consecutive game took a lead that they wouldn’t surrender. Like the previous two games, the Kings scored early in the third period and shut their opponent down the rest of the way. Scoring the game-winning goal on Wednesday was Warren Foegele 2:22 in. Continuing his run of outstanding play this season, Foegele beat Oettinger with a surprise wraparound to score his seventh goal of the season.
Rittich was sensational again, stopping 26 of 28 shots. Rittich’s record now sits at 10-6-0.
