LOS ANGELES –– The Kings were not able to invest like a contender at the trade deadline nor did they play like one a night after it passed, falling 4-1 to the Dallas Stars at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
Dallas, which won 6-2 over the Ducks on Friday, now has a four-point lead in the Central Division over the Winnipeg Jets while the Kings moved back into a points tie with the now-fortified Vegas Golden Knights, who made three big moves at the deadline, for third in the Pacific Division.
Kevin Fiala scored the Kings’ only goal in the first minute of the match. Cam Talbot stopped 31 of 34 shots.
Arcadia native Jason Robertson and old foe Joe Pavelski assisted on each other’s goals. Radek Faksa and Wyatt Johnston also tallied. Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves.
Saturday’s third period would bring no respite and little opportunity for the Kings.
The Stars cemented the victory when Pavelski’s three-zone, backhanded lob lofted over Fiala and the outstretched Drew Doughty and into the empty net with 3:40 to play.
Dallas gained separation 6:47 into the closing stanza. Three Stars had dangerous shot attempts on the power play, including Mason Marchment pinging the post, backing the Kings up before Johnston tallied off a rebound with two seconds left in Phillip Danault’s penalty.
The middle frame was even more even than the opening one in terms of possession but scoring chances were 16-3 in favor of Dallas, per Natural Stat Trick. The visitors finally broke through just past the midway mark when they scored two goals in 18 seconds.
First, Arthur Kaliyev lost a board battle after he was double teamed behind the Dallas net. The Stars darted off on a tempered counter-attack that became a Faksa goal from the high slot in part because of Kaliyev feeble effort on the backcheck. Faksa netted a goal for a second straight game and for the third time in four outings after scoring just two in 53 prior appearances this season.
Then, Dallas scored on another transition play, where they didn’t have numbers, as Pavelski turned a three-on-four rush into a sneaky redirection goal from the low slot by Robertson.
The first period began auspiciously and saw the Kings draw three penalties, yet they still trailed by wide margins in shots on goal (14-6 with an additional eight Dallas attempts blocked to the Kings’ 1) and scoring chances (8-1). In the only count that mattered, they led 1-0 thanks to the game’s first shot.
The Kings put themselves on the board just 26 seconds after they won the opening faceoff, punishing the Stars for a turnover. Miro Heiskanen’s pass around the back rim of his own zone zipped past partner Thomas Harley and onto Drew Doughty’s stick. He made a heady, authoritative pass to a cutting Fiala for a redirection goal, his 21st tally of the season.