Heika’s Take: Stars can’t capitalize on early momentum, fall 3-2 to Kings

The Stars sort of got “Kinged” on Wednesday night in California.

The Los Angeles Kings have been a slow starting team all season, and they did that again against Dallas, but, as they have done so many times this year, the Kings bounced back in the second half of the game and gutted out a 3-2 win.

It was a disappointing loss for the Stars, who had plenty of chances to extend the early 2-0 lead and also plenty of chances in the third period to tie the game. Dallas finished with a 28-17 advantage in shots on goal, a 69-42 edge in shot attempts and a dozen more scoring chances than the Kings.

“Up two, it’s a really good opportunity to win,” said forward Wyatt Johnston, who scored his fifth goal of the season. “We didn’t do a good enough job to keep playing and keep our pedal to the metal.”

That’s upsetting, because the Stars were so dominant early. Johnston converted his goal on the power play. Jason Robertson did a good job of getting a puck out from behind the net, and Johnston then scored on his own rebound two minutes into the game. Mason Marchment then scored on another beautiful shot later in the first period to make it 2-0. It was Marchment’s 11th goal of the season.

But then the Stars went dry.

Defensemen Nils Lundkvist and Esa Lindell combined for 10 shots on goal, but couldn’t get a puck through.

“We could have used some depth scoring tonight, someone chip one in,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “If you look at the goals for them, it’s the third and fourth line guys. We’ve got to get some of that, too.”

The Kings received markers from Tanner Jeannot, Joel Edmundson and Warren Foegele. All three were thanks to good pressure at the net and hard work that forced Dallas into mistakes. Jake Oettinger finished with 14 saves on 17 shots.

Los Angeles moved to 6-6-0 when allowing the first goal. It also leads the NHL in third period goals at 37, so there is a real feeling that the Kings know how to play from behind.

The Stars fall to 16-9-0 while the Kings jump to 15-8-3.

“We hadn’t established anything in the O-zone before we got that going in the second period,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “Then we had some consecutive shifts. But we needed that goal [from Jeannot]. I thought that goal was probably the biggest goal of the night, just kind of get us back and get us a bit of a reward for coming out strong in the second.”

The Stars said they definitely felt the momentum shift.

“Once they got that first one, they started to roll,” Logan Stankoven said. “We just can’t feed into that.”

Dallas had too many giveaways, but both teams had seven shots on goal in the second period and the game was tied 2-2 going into the third. That was a clear test, and DeBoer said he was hoping the Stars would win that kind of battle.

“They played better in the second period, but the shots were 7-7 and we hit a post or a crossbar and one went in for them off our leg,” DeBoer said. “I think they were opportunistic, they got back in the game, but going into the third it’s an even game.”

Dallas is now 3-2-0 when tied after two periods. The Kings are 4-4-2. It’s a lesson in a lot of different areas. The Stars have now scored six power play goals in their past seven games. That’s a huge improvement after enduring a slump that was hurting the team’s confidence.

“It’s just simpler, more direct,” DeBoer said. “More pucks and bodies to the net. We’ve got to do the same thing 5-on-5.”

The Stars had another great opportunity on the power play with four minutes left and the score 3-2. While they created all sorts of chances, Kings goalie David Rittich came up big in the clutch.

“I think we’re starting to figure out how to break down the kill,” Johnston said. “We still have work to do, like tonight, a power play with four minutes left, that’s a huge opportunity for us to tie the game up.”

In the end, it was an opportunity wasted. Now, the Stars will play at Vegas to end the three-game road trip. The hope is they can get back on a winning note before heading home.

“Last two years, it’s been tough games and big rivalries,” said Lundkvist. “It’s an exciting place to play.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.