The Los Angeles Kings will look to make it two straight wins when they continue their five-game road trip in Dallas against the Stars on Thursday night.
Los Angeles ended a four-game winless streak by opening the trip with a 2-1 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Adrian Kempe, who leads the Kings with nine points in seven games, scored the game-winner in overtime. Alex Laferrière also scored for the Kings, who ended an 0-2-2 streak and improved to 2-1-1 on the road.
“It’s difficult to win away games in this league, especially against teams like this,” Laferrière said. “I think it shows a lot of character from our group to be able to pull through. It’s just the beginning of a road trip that we want to finish with five wins.”
Tuesday also marked the Kings debut for veteran forward Corey Perry, who signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles as a free agent during the offseason. The 40-year-old, who injured his knee before training camp, had one shot on goal in 14:41 of ice time in the victory.
“I thought he added a lot,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “I thought he was dangerous, as dangerous as anyone up front. The intangible things, it’s just good to have him there, he’s a winner, and so it rubs off. I didn’t think I would play him (as much). I think he played almost 15 minutes tonight.
“For me it was a pretty amazing performance for the first time.”
Darcy Kuemper, the expected starter for Los Angeles on Thursday, is 1-2-1 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .883 save percentage in four games.
The Kings won two of three meetings against the Stars last season. Thursday is the first of three matches between the clubs.
Dallas continues a three-game homestand looking to end a three-game losing streak.
The Stars enter Thursday’s game coming off a 5-1 home loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Tyler Seguin scored the only goal as the Stars fell behind 2-0 after 20 minutes and allowed three unanswered goals in the third period in the loss.
“We don’t often lose three in a row here in recent years. It’s frustrating, for sure,” Seguin said. “We had seven (turnovers) in the first half, odd ones. That’s what we’re trying to get out of our game this year, and that’s what we gave them.
“It’s kind of tonight’s hockey game. You’d like to say it’s an easy out. We’re figuring out what plays simple, what plays with swagger, what plays with new systems and we’re just kind of caught up in all of that right now.”
Jake Oettinger, who is expected to start Thursday for Dallas, made 24 saves in the loss to the Blue Jackets. Oettinger is 3-2-0 with a 3.18 GAA and .896 save percentage in five games this season.
Wyatt Johnston has a team-leading four goals in six games this season, while Mikko Rantanen leads the Stars with seven points.
–Field level media
