Kings 3, Stars 1
Captain Dustin Brown celebrated his 30th birthday by scoring the tiebreaking goal early in the third period as Los Angeles earned its first road win of the season.
Jonathan Quick made 33 saves after allowing a goal on the first shot he saw as the Kings halted a four-game skid (0-3-1) and avoided going winless on their five-game road trip. Trevor Lewis notched a short-handed tally and set up Kyle Clifford's insurance goal as Los Angeles won away from home for the first time in six games (1-3-2).
Shawn Horcoff scored the lone goal for the Stars, who skidded to their fifth consecutive defeat (0-3-2) in the opener on a three-game homestand. Kari Lehtonen turned aside 27 shots but remained winless since Oct. 24.
Dallas got the jump on the Kings, scoring 2 1/2 minutes into the contest when Horcoff finished off a 2-on-1 with Vernon Fiddler to beat Quick. Los Angeles drew even 2:55 into the middle session as Jarret Stoll fed Lewis for a backhander for the team's NHL-leading fourth short-handed tally of the season.
Brown, who failed to hit the scoresheet in the previous eight games, halted his drought just over fourth minutes into the third, accepting a pass from Mike Richards and beating Lehtonen from the high slot for his second goal. Quick kept the Stars at bay with 16 saves in the third period while Clifford made it a two-goal lead with his first of the season with 8:25 to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Stars failed to cash in on four power-play chances and are 0-for-14 over their past three games. ... Kings D Drew Doughty appeared in his 456th game, moving into eighth place on the franchise list among defensemen, while Stars D Trevor Daley became the fourth Dallas blue-liner to appear in 700 games with the team. ... Kings F Jordan Nolan served the second of his two-game suspension, but D Sergei Gonchar made his season debut while F Valeri Nichushkin returned to the lineup for the first time since he was hurt in the second game.