Fresh off three consecutive losses, the Stars came into American Airlines Center with something to prove.
They only got halfway there.
Another slow first period ended scoreless for Dallas, but fruitful for Los Angeles. A series of penalties from Mikko Rantanen and Ilya Lyubushkin left the Stars three on five against the Kings. Corey Perry, who played for the Stars in 2019, snuck a rebounded puck past Jake Oettinger and put Los Angeles on the board.
In Dallas’ past two losses, both opposing teams have struck first. The Stars had a few solid scoring opportunities — a power play drawn by Radek Faksa and multiple scoring setups by all lines– but they could not capitalize.
“Obviously we had good looks tonight, but it’s still not good enough, because we have to put those in the net.” Forward Roope Hintz said. “So we gotta find that somewhere (for) the next game.”
Jason Robertson finally got the Stars, and the crowd, going when he flung a wrist shot past goalie Darcy Kuemper on a Dallas power play that he drew after the Stars killed a Kings penalty.
But the celebration did not last long. A little under two minutes later, another former Star, Cody Ceci, put Los Angeles back on top. Clearly frustrated, the Stars fired shot after shot at Kuemper but could not connect with the net.
“(It) felt like we were kind of both suffocating each other,” Robertson said. “It’s a tight checking game. They’re a good team. Came down to the wire.”
Things looked dire for Dallas when Alex Lafierriere knocked a puck past Oettinger. Luckily, for the Stars at least, the goal got called back because of high-sticking. Dallas survived another period and headed into the third even more desperate for some points.
Wyatt Johnston answered those prayers. The 22-year-old put up his fifth goal of the season to tie things up for the Stars.
As the final period of regulation unfolded, both clubs had some good looks. Dallas even had another power play, but neither team could score.
Time ticked down, and the game headed to overtime. Kings forward Adrian Kempe scored, and the Stars left another game feeling dissatisfied, despite their first point in a week.
“Players get really hard on themselves for the outcomes… so as a coach you try to take a little bit more of an objective view of it,” head coach Glen Gulutzan said. “And yeah, I liked our game. I didn’t like the score.”
The Stars will continue this stretch of home games Saturday night at 7 p.m. CT against the Carolina Hurricanes and will undoubtedly be eager for a win.