Kings 3, Stars 1
Defenseman Matt Greene scored to snap a tie with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period as the Los Angeles Kings skated to a 3-1 home triumph over the Dallas Stars on Saturday in a battle of Pacific Division rivals.
Wayne Simmonds collected a goal and an assist, captain Dustin Brown added an empty-net tally and Jonathan Quick turned aside 24 shots as Los Angeles (45-27-6) recorded its 13th win in 18 outings (13-3-2) against Dallas.
Winners of five of their last six games, the Kings pulled into a tie for fourth place with the Phoenix Coyotes (42-25-12) in the Western Conference standings.
Simmonds opened the scoring at 4:15 of the second period after deflecting defenseman Willie Mitchell's shot past Kari Lehtonen. Mitchell was originally credited with his sixth goal of the season and third in five games, but that was changed to Simmonds later in the session.
After Brad Richards snapped a seven-game goalless drought just 73 seconds later with his 26th goal of the campaign, Greene blasted a one-timer past Lehtonen for his second of the season and seventh career with 7:10 remaining in the third period.
Quick made the modest offense stand up to pick up his fourth victory of the season and 10th in his last 12 against the Stars.
Lehtonen finished with 29 saves for Dallas (38-28-11), which dropped its sixth in a row and eighth in nine contests (1-5-3). The Stars remain five points behind the eighth-place Chicago Blackhawks (42-27-8) in the Western Conference standings.