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Stars open homestand with 2-1 shootout loss to Kings

The Dallas Stars opened a crucial six-game homestand by getting their defensive game in order, but it wasn't enough to get them a win as they fell 2-1 in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings Friday night at American Airlines Center.

"When you have a good, solid effort defensively like we did, you like to capitalize on your opportunities, and we fell one short," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow.

The Stars didn't get the win, but they did get a point out of the game. They currently sit in 11th place in the West and are six points out of eighth place with 15 games remaining.

"We're in a fight for our playoff lives. We have been for awhile. Whatever it takes to get you motivated -- we're certainly living a do-or-die situation every night," said Morrow. "Looking at the six-game home stand, we like to think we need at least 10 points. We let one slip tonight. We're still in a position, I think we can take care of our own lives. If we let too much slip, we're going to have to get some help from people against those teams. Right now, they're all collecting points, and we're not keeping pace."

Said defenseman Stephane Robidas: "We're fighting for our lives. It's like game seven of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and that's the approach we've got to have every night."

Dallas looked like a team fighting for its life Friday night. The Stars, who had given up 25 goals in their first five games out of the Olympic break, were much better defensively, allowing only one against the Kings. After giving up 95 shots on goal in their two previous games, they held the Kings to 28 and Marty Turco stopped 27 of those.

"We played a lot better tonight," said Stars coach Marc Crawford. "We did a lot of good things in the defensive zone. We really protected well. We blocked a lot of shots, we were in lanes. They didn't get anything easy, which is really positive. On the other side, I think our offense will be better as we move forward."

Offense was an issue on this night. Cracking Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier, who was making his first NHL start since October 2007, for more than one goal was a difficult task. Bernier stopped 29 of 30 shots in regulation and overtime and then was 6-6 in the shootout in just the fifth start of his NHL career.

"He's a very talented young man," Kings coach Terry Murray said of Bernier. "He's worked hard this year to get his game to a good level, and he's having good success. The opportunity and the preparation came together here tonight. I really like what I saw."

The Stars didn't get a puck past Bernier until 6:29 into the third period when Morrow scored to tie the game at 1-1. The Stars could get nothing by Bernier on six chances in the shootout. Jarret Stoll scored on the Kings' sixth shot to give them the extra point, their 40th win of the season and moved them into fourth in the West.

"The two points were very big," said Murray. "Your goal is to make the playoffs at the start of the year, and each time you are able to put a point up, two points tonight, it's heading toward accomplishing your goal."

The Stars continue their homestand Sunday afternoon against Colorado.

"We need points," said Turco. "We need to just start winning, period."

Game Recap

Both teams had 11 shots in the first period and the Stars had the better chances but the Kings scored the only goal, tallying on their second power play with 35 seconds left in the first. Dustin Brown tracked down a loose puck at the blue line, put a shot on net and Fredrik Modin redirected it past Stars goalie Marty Turco. The Stars outshot the Kings 10-6 in the second period and had back-to-back power plays early in the second, but couldn't crack Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier and the game headed to the third period with Los Angeles leading 1-0. The Stars tied the game at 6:29 of the third when Mike Modano backhanded a puck to Mike Ribeiro, who quickly got it to Brenden Morrow and the Stars captain scored from the left circle to make it a 1-1 game. Both teams had a power play chance later in the third, but couldn't take advantage. The Stars outshot the Kings 3-1 in the overtime. In the shootout the first 11 shooters failed to score before Jarret Stoll scored off a snap shot to give Los Angeles the win.

Quotable

"The bottom line is we came up short. The good news is we didn't give up five goals tonight, so that's a positive sign, and their shots were a little lower than they've been in the past few games. I think we've got to keep bearing down defensively and try to be a little better, and try to limit the turnovers. We need to play really hard, and when we get our chances offensively, we've got to make them count." - Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas "Personally, what I'm thinking about is just winning and hoping someone loses to gain a little bit of ground. But you can't do that unless you win every night, and tonight was a great step in that way. I'm pretty sure if we win the rest of our games this season, we'll be in the playoffs, and that's something that we have control over. We've got to continue this home stand like we did tonight, and score a couple of goals, and squeak 'em out, or do whatever we have to. It doesn't really matter. This team is going to give everything they have. It'll be interesting to see how things shape up." - Stars goalie Marty Turco "I was nervous at first. With only one practice, I didn’t know the timing and stuff. I felt better once the game got going and I felt much better in the third for sure." Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier “I had never seen him play. He’s just very calm. I think that’s the one thing you can say about him. He doesn’t make any extra movements, he doesn’t over commit, he technically looks very sound and it looks like he’s in good position all the time. If he keeps playing like that he’s going to be a good one.” - Kings forward on goalie Jonathan Bernier

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