Stars at Kings
THE STORY: If the Dallas Stars hope to end their road woes, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do it in the next week. The Stars will be playing the second of a season-long, five-game road trip when they take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night at Staples Center. Dallas faces a challenge picking up points against the Kings, who have won two of three meetings between the Pacific Division rivals this season. The Stars have lost five of six on the road overall, getting outscored 20-8 in the process.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS-WEST, TXA 21
ABOUT THE STARS (15-11-1): The Stars’ trip got off to a rocky start with a 5-2 loss to San Jose on Thursday. The club never recovered after allowing two goals in the opening minute. Dallas did receive a boost from captain Brenden Morrow, who returned from a six-game absence with an upper-body injury to score just his third goal of the campaign. Goaltender Andrew Raycroft, filling in for the injured Kari Lehtonen, has surrendered five goals in consecutive starts. Backup Richard Bachman could draw the start, which would be only his third NHL appearance.
ABOUT THE KINGS (13-11-4): A lack of scoring has been the culprit in the Kings’ current slide. The club has dropped three straight games and hasn’t scored more than two goals in seven consecutive contests. The Kings are averaging just 2.25 goals per game – dead last in the NHL. Leading scorer Anze Kopitar has 27 points but has gone goalless in the last seven games with only three assists in that span. Los Angeles will continue to be without center Mike Richards, who has missed three games with a concussion.
OVERTIME:
1. Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick is 2-0-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and one shutout when facing Dallas this season.
2. The Kings are 10-3-1 in the past 14 meetings at home against the Stars.