Slow starting Stars fall again to Kings
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars' first period against the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night resembled their start to the season - it was sluggish.
The Stars fell behind 2-0 in the first 13 minutes of the game and never recovered, falling 3-2 to the Kings at the American Airlines Center. And this was a loss that hit the Stars hard.
"On home ice tonight was unacceptable the way we came out in the first period," said Stars center Brad Richards, who had a goal and an assist. "I am speechless the way we came out and got down two-nothing. No offense to that team, but we feel we should be out there dictating in the first period."
Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas agreed with Richards and cited the team’s work ethic as one cause for the recent losses.
“There is no excuse for the lack of work ethic we are showing,” Robidas said. “Until we realize that, we will keep losing."
The loss left the Stars with a 5-8-3 record and mired in last place in the Pacific Division, three points behind fourth place, 7-6-2 Los Angeles. The Kings have won four straight games, including two over the Stars.
"It’s been frustrating, it's been disappointing," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. "We haven't gotten many breaks – we haven't earned many either. Until we start doing that we are going to continue to hover around last place."
The loss was the Stars’ fifth in their last six games (1-4-1), and there was little talk in postgame comments of progress being made.
“There's not much chemistry and you can see it on the ice," said center Mike Ribeiro, who scored one of the Stars' two goals. "People are trying to do others guys’ jobs. That’s what happens when things don't go well. It’s the way you work and how you work as a team to get out of it."
The buzzwords after the game were team and trust.
"We're not going to be a very good team until we start playing like a team," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "To play as a team you do things well together. You trust your teammates. You make sure your part is taken care of. And when you mistakes or you have situations in a game that go against you in a game you band together tighter. We are not going to be a good team until we do that consistently"
One of the biggest issues for the Stars, Tippett said, is trust among the players.
"The guys that have the most influence in this are your top players and when they don't have trust in the whole group, then you are in trouble," he said. "And we have some trust issues right now."
The Stars’ coach did, however, have a solution.
"We'll keep pounding away," Tippett said. "We'll take the individual stuff out and put the team concept in and we'll keep pounding away. If we get to a point where people don't want to do it then we'll have to take them out of the lineup."
The Stars got behind early Thursday in part because of penalty trouble. The Stars took the first three penalties of the game and the second one, a **contested?** tripping call on Sean Avery, resulted in Los Angeles' first power play goal.
Michal Handzus won an offensive-zone draw on the power play and the puck went to Peter Harrold, whose point shot was deflected into the net by Handzus 9:53 into the game.
The Kings were unsuccessful on their third power play of the game, but made it 2-0 with an even-strength goal when Jarret Stoll scored off a rebound at 13:11 of the first period.
The Stars made it a 2-1 game when Richards scored a one-timer on a five-on-three power play from the top of the right circle with 21.2 seconds left in the period.
The Kings extended their lead to 3-1 with another power play goal in the second period when Kyle Quincey beat a screened Marty Turco to make it 3-1.
Mike Ribeiro scored a power play goal later in the second with a deflection in front of the net to make it 3-2, but the Stars could not get the equalizer.
It was another big win for the Kings, especially because they got this one on the road, where the Kings have played little this season.
"On the road in general it's tough," said Kings captain Dustin Brown. "But we played pretty well tonight. We came in here and grinded it out."
And they left the Stars reeling and searching for ways to break out of an early season slump that has seen them lose 11 of their first 16 games.
| Game Recap |
| First Period |
|
The Stars found themselves in a 2-0 hole when the Kings scored twice in a 3:18 span. The Stars took the first three penalties of the game and Los Angeles scored on their second one to take a 1-0 lead 9:53 of the game. After Michal Handzus beat Steve Ott on a faceoff, Handzus went to the front of the net and deflected a Peter Harold point shot past Stars goalie Marty Turco. The Kings made it 2-0 at 13:11 mark when Jarret Stoll scored off a rebound from close range. The Stars cut the lead to 2-1 when they cashed in on a five-on-three power play late in the period. Brad Richards took a pass from Sergei Zubov and beat Kings goalie Erik Ersberg with a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle with 21.2 seconds remaining in the period. Score after first period: Los Angeles 2,
Dallas 1 |
| Second Period |
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After the Stars couldn't cash in on their second power play of the game, the Kings got their fourth chance of the game with the man-advantage and scored to get their two-goal lead back. Kyle Quincey's shot from the point found its way into the net at the 3:24 mark to make it 3-1. The Kings had a chance to blow the game open with three more power play chances, including 1:51 of five-on-three time, but failed to score and left the door open for the Stars to climb back into the game. The Stars did just that with their third power play of the game. Mike Ribeiro deflected a RIchards shot from the left circle past Ersberg at 14:43 of the second to make it 3-2. The Stars had another chance on the power play later in the second but couldn't cash in. Score after second period: Los Angeles 3,
Dallas 2 |
| Third Period |
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There was no scoring in the third period. The
King had the only power play chance of the final 20 minutes. The
Stars pulled Turco late in the game, but weren't able to get a
good chance. Final score: Los Angeles 3, Dallas 2 Third period shots on goal: Dallas 9, Los Angeles 8 Total Shots on Goal: Los Angeles 29, Dallas 26 |
| Official Scoresheet | Official Super Stats |
