The Dallas Stars have lost consecutive games for the first time in more than a month and will look to avoid a three-game skid when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
The Kings have lost two straight in overtime and earned points in their past four games as they begin a three-game road trip.
The Stars saw their nine-game point streak (8-0-1) end with a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, and the Florida Panthers blanked them 4-0 on Saturday. Dallas had not lost twice in a row since Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
“Two losses in a row, we didn’t know the feeling for so long, so it’s hard,” forward Radek Faksa said. “This may be good. We got a little slap. Because the last few games, we got a little sloppy, I feel like. We need to start working again and play our game. Good stuff for us, now we’ve got to move forward and learn from this.”
Jake Oettinger made 19 saves against Florida.
The Stars managed only two shots on goal in a scoreless first period and the Panthers pulled away in the second. Dallas was outshot 23-15.
“I don’t think you can win too many games with (low) shots on net,” Dallas forward Colin Blackwell said. “I think we need to do just a better job of generating 5-on-5 across the board and getting to the dirty areas. … I think that has to be a key for us moving forward.”
Los Angeles has also had trouble generating offense of late. Seven of the Kings’ last 10 opponents held them below three goals, and their average of 2.65 goals per game ranks near the bottom of the NHL.
Adrian Kempe’s team-leading 11th goal opened the scoring Saturday, but the Calgary Flames won 2-1 in overtime after tying the game with a short-handed goal — the fifth allowed by the Kings this season.
“Obviously, puck’s not going in,” Kings defenseman Brian Dumoulin. “We’re a type of team that’s comfortable playing in these tight games, so if the score’s 1-1, we’re not going to open it up and try to score. We have no problem going late in the game and keeping it tied.”
The Kings were outshot 17-3 in the second period, but Darcy Kuemper made 16 of his 36 saves.
“He was the reason why we got the one point, really. Second period, he was outstanding,” forward Anze Kopitar said. “I mean, he’s been outstanding all year and last year. We almost take it for granted, so we’ve got to find ways to score more goals and give him some run support. ”
Kempe has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.
Los Angeles has played 14 overtime games this season, and six required a shootout.
The Kings won the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 23 when Kempe scored in OT to defeat the Stars 3-2.
–Field Level Media
