The Kings got the win last night, but it was a good night for both teams. The Kings, well, got the win, which matters most, but the Dallas Stars also turned in a very strong effort, with their backup goalie, playing on back-to-back nights on the road. We can only hope that the next five Kings-Stars games are as good as last night’s game. The Dallas Morning News has gone to a pay model on its website, but here’s a recap of the game from ESPNDallas.com, followed by some postgame quotes from the Stars’ locker room…
Stars roll out solid effort, but fall to Kings
—–
COACH GLEN GULUTZAN
(on the game…)
GULUTZAN: “We’re disappointed with the outcome but I guess we are going to rationalize it to ourselves in the fact that we thought that we played real well and the game could have gone either way. I think that as long as we are moving forward as a group, then I think we took a step forward today as far as where we think we can compete in this division, and I thought it was a good hockey game. I thought this was our best game all year from start to finish. I thought that we are playing against a high-caliber hockey club and we played a solid game and it was real good for the fans.’’
—–
BRENDEN MORROW
(on the game…)
MORROW: “I don’t think there are a lot of things in the game we can complain about besides finishing. Sometimes the puck just doesn’t go in for you and we didn’t get one tonight. When we have success, we’re getting pucks deep. With guys like Kopitar and Richards you don’t really want to play in your zone. The easiest way to defend is to play in the offensive zone.’’
—–
ALEX GOLIGOSKI
(on the game…)
GOLIGOSKI: “We played the way we wanted to and I think if we play that way the rest of the way we’ll be all right. We were really good tonight, but the blue lines and stuff was tough, the ice was pretty bad out there. We were really good tonight, especially on back-to-back nights, it shows mental toughness more than anything.’’
Gonna be a brutal race to see who makes the playoffs in the west because of the way the Avs, Dallas and the Ducks are playing. Last man standing.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:10 am
@KC23,
We’ll be at least top 8 I think. I have us winning the division, even before the season, and I normally might be a little biase, but I don’t think it’s fandom so much as common sense. We are deep (all the way through Manchester), we have scorers, and the best defense, and goaltending tandem in the league.
Wouldn’t it be great if Manchester won a Cup, at the same time the Kings did? I’m not sure if any team has ever had their minor league affiliate, and their primary team win it all, in the same year.
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:21 am
@Dominick, I picked SJ, but in hind sight you’re call of the King’s makes more sense because of depth. Not gonna happen in Manchester imho. They lost too much with Moller and Holloway bolting to Europe. That was a huge hit on a forward depth chart.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:35 am
@KC23, Good point on Moller, and Holloway. Hopefully some of the other propsects make a difference, and during the playoffs some Jr. players are able to boost their Cup run at just the right time.
why pay, The Stars played well and there were fans at the game.
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:28 am
@jet, I would not likely pay for anything of that nature. I get mad at myself everytime I get linked up to a pay espn article … you read a couple of good paragraphics and WHAM …sorry, you gotta pay to read the rest … my answer … never ever.
[Reply]
WAKingsFan Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:48 pm
@jet, The Dallas Stars rolled out a solid effort Saturday night in Los Angeles, perhaps their best effort of the season. But it wasn’t enough to get them two points against Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings. Quick stopped 28 shots for his third straight shutout as the Kings topped Dallas 1-0, stopping the Stars’ winning streak at five games.
“We’re disappointed with the outcome but I guess we are going to rationalize it to ourselves in the fact that we thought that we played real well and the game could have gone either way,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “I thought this was our best game all year from start to finish. I thought that we are playing against a high-caliber hockey club and we played a solid game and it was real good for the fans.”
Stars goaltender Andrew Raycroft, making his second start of the season, was sharp in the net for the Stars, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
“I don’t think there are a lot of things in our game that we can complain about besides finishing,” said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. “Rayzor (Andrew Raycroft) gave us a solid effort. We sure would have liked to have got him the win. He was battling hard for us, but sometimes the puck just doesn’t go in for you. We didn’t get one tonight.”
Quick and the Kings, who have now won four straight, had a lot to do with that. Los Angeles (5-1-1) didn’t give up many quality chances and what did get on net was taken care of by Quick, who became the first goaltender in Kings franchise history to record three straight shutouts and is now riding a shutout streak of 188 minutes and 10 seconds.
“Obviously I do feel good, but we have guys battling in all areas, especially in the D-zone on the boards and clearing out the front of the net,” said Quick. “They’re clearing out rebounds and doing their job, which makes my job even easier.”
But it was no easy night for the Kings, who had all they could handle in the Stars, who are now 6-2-0 on the season. Dallas was just as tough to crack in the defensive end, giving up few quality scoring chances.
“That was probably our best game we’ve played, back-to-back, on the road and in a tough building,” said Raycroft. “We played our game tonight. We stayed disciplined and really didn’t give up much.”
The game was fast paced and physical. The Stars made a strong push early in the third and almost took the lead, but a Michael Ryder shot from the left circle rang off the post.
The Kings’ game-winner came off an offensive zone faceoff. After center Mike Richards won the draw from Steve Ott, Rob Scuderi sent the puck to Johnson, whose shot from the right point seemed to change direction just before it eluded Raycroft.
“I didn’t see it,” said Raycroft. “I didn’t see it.”
That shot turned out to be the difference in the game. It wasn’t the result the Stars wanted, but they liked the effort.
“We played the way we wanted to,” said Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski. “If we play that way the rest of the way we’ll be alright.”
Notes
*Stars captain Brenden Morrow and defenseman Adam Pardy were both cut during the game after getting hit in the face by pucks. Both continued to play in the game.
*Defenseman Mark Fistric and forwards Jake Dowell and Krys Barch were the scratches.
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 7:13 pm
@WAKingsFan, Staples now considered “… a tough building …”
[Reply]
The boys from Dallas have nothing to hang their heads about. Both teams gave a good effort and produced what any sports fan could want- a very entertaining game.
I’m very happy we won as I was still a bit sore over that late season loss to the Stars last year. If both teams continue the same sort of play all year, we’ve got some great games between us on the horizon!
[Reply]
“…the ice was pretty bad out there.”
yeah, yeah, blame it on the ice. great game Kings!
[Reply]
puck73 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:28 am
@dozi, Totally agree. The Kings had to play on that “Bad Ice” as well.
[Reply]
Darrell Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:31 am
@dozi, I went out on the ice after the game, and it was pretty bad. I can’t imagine playing on that.
[Reply]
justmyopinion Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:50 am
@Darrell, That’s pretty sad to read. Since there is no basketball going on you would think the ice should be good. The Kings should worry more about this problem than putting on a show off the ice.
[Reply]
DesertKing Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:34 am
@dozi,
Fire the Ice Crew girls!!
[Reply]
Oliver Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:36 am
@dozi, Players were losing edges all night, on both teams. The ice was terrible.
[Reply]
Kingstane9 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:57 pm
@Oliver, that’s not good at all. The last thing I(we) wanna see is Kopi or any other King getting injured because of that.
[Reply]
Kingstane9 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 5:57 pm
@Kingstane9, ….again
toemas_sandstrom Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:04 pm
@dozi, Occupy the ice!
[Reply]
Kings win, Ducks lose Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:59 pm
@dozi, Rich,
Can you look into the bad ice situation?
[Reply]
Congratulations to Kopi on playing his 400th. Next up, Stoll gets his 300th point, Hunter gets his 100th goal, Whiskey plays his 100th game.
[Reply]
neil Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:07 pm
@Dominick, and vv his 10th…..
[Reply]
OnTheFly Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:10 pm
@Dominick, …and Penner gets his first goal of the season….
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:14 pm
@OnTheFly, 1rst period against New Jersey.
[Reply]
mash-ola Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 1:39 pm
@OnTheFly, He didn’t show up on the scoresheet, but I thought Penner played one of his best games of the year. Set up Gagne and had a few nice plays out there… If he keeps working hard, he’ll get some breaks.
[Reply]
OnTheFly Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 2:55 pm
@mash-ola,
I’ll on his side. I want him to do well. He worked really hard this summer, all he needs is a break and then watch out. He’ll light it up.
Kingstane9 Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 6:07 pm
@mash-ola, agreed, Penner was good
I didn’t think the Kings looked very good but we got the 2 pts so whatever. Reload.
[Reply]