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Stars Call Check Mate on the Kings

Posted on by Taylor Newby

The Dallas Stars closed out their West Coast road trip with a massive 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. After blowing a three-goal lead and losing to the San Jose Sharks the previous night, the Stars needed to show up against one of the top teams in the Pacific Division. Not only did the team do that in a big way, but Scott Wedgewood dominated, redeeming himself after a poor outing against the Calgary Flames his last time out.

This was Roope Hintz’s sixth game out with an upper-body injury. He did not make the three-game road trip. Nils Lundkvist was a healthy scratch and Joel Hanley slotted in for him on a pair with Ryan Suter. Hanley had not played since January 4th against the Anaheim Ducks.

First Period

The Stars started the first period full throttle, scoring three goals. Tyler Seguin tallied two of those, including an opening goal that found a hole in Pheonix Copley. His second goal came unassisted with just under three minutes left in the period. Seguin won a faceoff against Phillip Danault, forced a turnover and sniped one blocker side high. With Hintz out, Seguin has been playing on the top line with Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, recording five goals and eight points in those six games.

With just over a minute left in the period, Esa Lindell tallied his sixth goal of the season, again going blocker side high. All three of the goals were at even strength, as no penalties were called in the first period (although Radek Faksa came out of it with a bleeding lip after taking an uncalled high stick). Scott Wedgewood faced nine shots on goal.

Second Period

Unlike the first period, fully half of the second period was spent on special teams. Seguin and Robertson were both sent to the box for hooking. The Stars would get three opportunities on the power play but were unable to capitalize. Robertson was able to put in the fourth goal of the night, a dagger seven minutes into the period, when he put in a rebound off of his own wraparound attempt. Seguin and Miro Heiskanen got the assists, but the goal was on a massive second effort that Robertson was able to elevate over Copley. After the goal, the Kings brought in Jonathan Quick, ending Copley’s night.

Third Period

The third period was a bit on the sloppy side for the Stars. Joel Kiviranta and Mason Marchment would both take trips to the penalty box. The Kings looked dangerous on the power play, but Wedgewood stole every chance that they had to score. For the period, the Stars allowed 14 shots on goal while only putting up two. They were able to hold on, and when the final horn sounded, Wedgewood recorded his first shutout of the season, second with the Stars and sixth of his career. Overall, he stopped 34 out of 34 shots.

The Stars went 2-1-0 on the West Coast swing. They now return home for an eight-game homestand that will take them through the All-Star break and halfway through February.

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