Dallas defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on Tuesday night, going 3-for-4 with the man advantage after going 0-for-13 in the previous four games.
Stars coach Peter DeBoer said the win was an important one.
“This league’s all about your response,” he explained, speaking of the victory after losing three of the last four. “You’re not going to be good every night, and I loved our response. I thought we really played well.”
The Stars lost 6-3 at home to the New York Rangers last Saturday.
“It’s big, coming back to answer,” Jamie Benn said, “and [we] came up with a solid, 60-minute effort. I think every guy in this room came to play tonight, and it’s why we got a good team win.”
Roope Hintz scored twice and assisted once for the Stars in Tuesday’s win at American Airlines Center in Los Angeles. On the power play, he gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 6:49 of the first period with a slap shot from the left face-off circle.
Jason Robertson also had a goal and two assists for the Stars, while Miro Heiskanen and Jamie Benn each had two assists (6-3-1).
“We were working,” Heiskanen said about the Star’s power play. “I think we have two really good units, and we need to be there, top five at least.”
The Stars’ goaltender, Scott Wedgewood, earned his first win since April 12, following 30 saves made.
Kevin Fiala scored at 5:21 of the second period on a rebound of a Carl Grundstrom shot that deflected off Wedgewood’s glove.
Dallas answered and took a commanding 4-1 lead after scoring three goals in under two minutes.
Robertson’s power-play goal at 9:01 on a shot from the top of the right circle started the scoring flurry and was followed by Tyler Seguin’s score at 10:17 from just inside the right circle to make it 3-1. Hintz scored 14 seconds later on a breakaway at 10:31.
The King’s Arthur Kaliyev fought back to make it 4-2, but Dallas’ Joe Pavelski answered on a power play to make it 5-2.
“The start wasn’t what we wanted,” Kings coach Todd McLellan told NHL.com. “If you don’t have your legs, you better have your brains, and we didn’t have either.”
The win has the Stars sitting in first place in the Western Central with 13 points, two points better than second place’s Winnipeg (5-3-1).
The Stars will next be tested by the Arizona Coyotes (3-5-1) in Dallas on Thursday, November 2, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.
