Stars hand Kings fifth straight loss

DALLAS -- John Klingberg and Jason Spezza each had a goal and an assist to help the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.

Forward Devin Shore had two assists and goalie Ben Bishop made 31 saves for the Stars (4-4-0), who ended a three-game losing streak.
"We knew we were playing a desperate team," Stars forward Blake Comeau said of the Kings, who have lost five straight. "It's a step in the right direction, that's for sure."
WATCH: [All Kings vs. Stars highlights]
Forwards Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli scored for Los Angeles. Goalie Jonathan Quick made 19 saves.
The Kings have been outscored 25-7 during the streak, allowing at least four goals in each of the five losses.

"We're on the right path, correcting things, but we've got to do it," Kopitar said. "Obviously, we can't wait. Time maybe still is on our side, but it's not going to be for much longer."
With Stars forward Alexander Radulov missing his second straight game because of a lower-body injury, coach Jim Montgomery played 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
"I enjoyed the 11 forwards tonight," said Montgomery, who replaced Radulov on his top line, which features Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, with Tyler Pitlick. "I felt I could get everybody involved in the game and everybody was into the game."

Comeau scored from the slot at 5:14 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. It was his first goal with the Stars after signing a three-year contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Spezza shot a long rebound from the left face-off circle to make it 2-0 at 9:59 of the second period. Forward Justin Dowling, recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on Monday, had an assist.
The Kings pulled within 2-1 at 14:04 of the second period when Kopitar sent a backhand shot between Bishop's pads on a breakaway, but Klingberg scored from the right point 22 seconds later to give the Stars a 3-1 lead at 14:26.

It was Klingberg's fifth goal in eight games; he had eight goals in 82 games last season.
Toffoli took a stretch pass from defenseman Sean Walker and sent a wrist shot past Bishop glove side to make it 3-2 at 17:09 of the second period. It was Walker's first NHL point after he was promoted from Ontario of the AHL on Monday.
Pitlick's power-play goal gave the Stars a 4-2 lead at 4:23 of the third period.

They said it

"I think there's a lot of good things we did 5-on-5 tonight, but I think there's a lot of detail in our game that we need to be a whole lot better at." -- Kings coach John Stevens
"They trust me to play. There was a little nerves playing with the top players." -- Stars forward Tyler Pitlick

Need to know

An apparent goal scored by Kings forward Jeff Carter at 19:32 of the third period with Quick pulled for an extra attacker was disallowed after video review determined the puck was batted in with Carter's glove. … The Kings outshot the Stars 33-23; they are 0-4-0 when they outshoot their opponent. … Klingberg appeared to give the Stars a 4-2 lead in the waning seconds of the second period, but video review revealed time in the period ran out just before the puck crossed the goal line. … Spezza has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games.

What's next

Kings: At the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, PRIME, NHL.TV)