FINAL – Kings 3, Stars 2 – Edmundson, Jeannot, Hiller

The LA Kings came from two goals down, their first multi-goal comeback of the season, to defeat the Dallas Stars by a 3-2 final on Wednesday evening at Crypto.com Arena.

After the Kings took a penalty inside the first 60 seconds of the game, Dallas opened the scoring with an early power-play goal. Goaltender David Rittich challenged Stars forward Wyatt Johnston aggressively and made a big first save from point-blank range, but Johnston got a stick on the rebound and pushed it through the five hole for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.

The Stars struck again midway through the opening period through forward Mason Marchment, who sent the game into the first intermission with a two-goal lead for the visitors. Marchment used a loose-puck deke in the offensive zone to create a bit of space in the slot, before he wired a shot past a screened Rittich, off the crossbar and in, for his 11th goal of the season and a 2-0 advantage.

Early in the second period, forward Tanner Jeannot got the Kings on the board, cutting the Dallas lead to a single goal. Off a hard-working shift in the offensive zone, forward Warren Foegele fed Jeannot in front and although his first shot missed the net wide, Jeannot stuck with the play and scored off the ricochet off the endboards for the goal, his third of the season.

Los Angeles equalized late in the second period, sending the game tied at two heading into the second intermission. Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, the Kings worked the puck to defenseman Joel Edmundson, who wired a shot from the center point, off a Dallas played and in for his fourth goal of the season, most among Kings defensemen.

Just over two minutes into the third period, the Kings took their first lead of the evening, as Jeannot and Foegele combined for another goal. Jeannot cycled the puck below the goal line to Foegele, who spun around his man in tight quarters and scored on a wraparound, past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, for his seventh goal of the season and a 3-2 advantage for the hosts, which ultimately held up as the game’s final score.

Hear from Edmundson, Foegele and Head Coach Jim Hiller following tonight’s win over Dallas.

Joel Edmundson

Tanner Jeannot
On what the team did to come from behind after a slow start
Yeah, they came out pretty hot, they pretty much dominated us in that first period there, so we needed to have a response. Guys came back in the room, regrouped and came out with a better second and we were able to get the job done in the third. It was a good game.

On getting rewarded with two points tonight, both coming off hard-working shifts
Yeah, it’s always nice to get rewarded. It just comes from hard work, so you’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully they go in. Tonight, we’re fortunate to have that happen, folks,

On his line with Quinton Byfield and Warren Foegele
Both those guys, they’re both really fast, they both work really hard and turn pucks over and have you the puck on your stick more often than not. It’s really fun playing with them.

On the ability of the Kings to respond from a bad period or a bad game
We came into our building and they kind of worked us in the first period there and I don’t think any team wants that to happen. We just regrouped and came out in the second and had a better second there and continued on into the third.

On making an impact in a physical type of game that suits the way he plays
They’re a big team, always been a physical team and I like those games, that’s, like you said, that’s kind of where I flourish. So, I try to get in on the forecheck and try to swing that in my team’s favor.

Jim Hiller
On what the team turned around between the first and second periods
I think we had to gather ourselves a little bit. The players had to find out how hard they were willing to compete the rest of the way. We hadn’t seen that team yet this year and they came as advertised, we know them. Penalty early didn’t help, right? We did not a bad job on the kill, we made a mistake and they scored late, we were on our heels. I think we got more competitive.

On flipping a 2-0 game against a team like Dallas
I don’t know that we flipped it. I don’t know that we flipped the game. We flipped our game, we started getting more competitive, but let’s be honest, they still took it to us. So, that’s just the quality of their team, that’s a good team. We felt like probably that was our hardest game of the year, the one that we felt the most overwhelmed at times. It’s a good team.

On Tanner Jeannot’s impact on tonight’s game
Big goal, we needed that. He also has some good hits on the forecheck, we saw that too. That’s a big, strong, talented team and he’s the kind of guy that in those games, you need to step up. You’ve got a special presence to you, that has to be exposed in a game like that. I thought he did that, obviously the goal and I think he had an assist in there too.

On why he chose tonight to go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen
That’s a good question. I think the schedule helps us a little bit, because we had a couple days off, practice, now we don’t play again until Saturday, so I think that is a benefit. I’ve been talking about it with the coaches for a while, I wanted to get to this, we just didn’t feel it was the right time. Just felt like tonight was.

On David Rittich’s performance tonight
He played really good tonight. I don’t know that he played a better game than he did tonight that I can remember this season. I thought that was his best. We needed it. So yeah, he’s just done a great job while Kuemps has been out, carrying the load because he’s played, all but one. Ports gave us that one really good game, but that’s a lot of pucks, a lot of stress for a goaltender. He did a great job, especially tonight.

On good teams finding a way to win, on nights when they don’t play their best
That’s an important one for sure. I said this to the team, that the Anaheim game, as much as we got outplayed, we still had to go out there and win the first period and we did that, so that was the job. The Ottawa game, which was a tough game when it was 2-2 after two, we had to go and win the period. I’ve been on plenty of teams and had plenty of nights where you go out and lose, you play well and you lose. In the end, you’ve got to find a way to win and I thought that’s what we’ve done here the last three games, is found a way to win in the third and you don’t just get lucky. You’ve got to earn it. If you’re not working, you’re not going to win, trust me. So, you go there and work, you get some bounces, you score a big goal, and it happens to go your way, but it’s the commitment that you make.

On flipping a 2-0 game against a team like Dallas
I don’t know that we flipped it. I don’t know that we flipped the game. We flipped our game, we started getting more competitive, but let’s be honest, they still took it to us. So, that’s just the quality of their team, that’s a good team. We felt like probably that was our hardest game of the year, the one that we felt the most overwhelmed at times. It’s a good team.

Notes –
• In his 250th career game, forward Tanner Jeannot (1-1=2) scored his third goal of the season and picked up an assist for his first multi-point game as a member of the Kings. Jeannot becomes only the fifth Kings skater to record a goal and an assist in his 250th career game and is the first to do so since Drew Doughty (1-1=2; Nov. 10, 2011 vs. VAN). The goal marked Jeannot’s second career tally against the Stars (1-1=2; Nov. 10, 2021 with NSH).
• Forward Warren Foegele (1-1=2) potted his seventh goal of the campaign and picked up his sixth assist of the season. Foegele now has three points over his last three home games against the Stars (2-1=3), dating back to March 16, 2023 (with EDM).
• Forward Anze Kopitar (0-1=1) picked up his 22nd assist of the season, extending his home assist streak to a season-long fourth game (2-5=7). With the helper, Kopitar reaches the 30-point plateau for the 19th time in his career, becoming the 27th player in League history to record 19 seasons with at least 30 points.
• The assist marked the captain’s 60th career point (21-39=60) against the Stars, joining Marcel Dionne (32-33-65) as the second King to record as many against the franchise. Kopitar also joins Patrick Kane (32-44=76) as the only two active skaters across the league to reach this threshold against the Stars.
• Kopitar also becomes the 11th skater in League history to record 30 points through his team’s first 26 games to start a season at age 37 or older. He is the first to do so since Martin St. Louis (7-29=36) did so at age 37 with Tampa Bay in 2012-13.
• Defenseman Joel Edmundson (1-0=1) scored his fourth goal and eighth point of the season, tying his career record of eight points in the first 24 games played to start the season, most recently done on Nov. 24, 2019 (with CAR).
• Defenseman Kyle Burroughs (0-1=1) collected his second assist of the campaign for his first career point against Dallas.
• Goaltender David Rittich stopped 26 of 28 shots faced against the Stars to improve his record to 10-6-0 on the campaign. Per NHL PR, recorded his eighth home game this season with a save percentage above .900 –– tied for the second most this season behind the man at the other end of the ice from him tonight, Dallas’ Jake Oettinger (9 GP).
• Per NHL PR, the Kings earned their first multi-goal comeback win of the season and first since Feb. 17, 2024. The last time Los Angeles overcame a multi-goal deficit to win at Crypto.com Arena was Dec. 1, 2022 (5-3 W vs. ARI).

The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 11 AM at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo.