Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Mike Modano registered a goal and an assist
while Marty Turco made 32 saves, as the Dallas Stars downed the Los Angeles
Kings, 4-1, at Staples Center.
Antti Miettinen, Brenden Morrow and Jussi Jokinen also scored for the Stars,
who remained perfect on the young season at 3-0. Eric Lindros added three
assists in the victory.
Raitis Ivanans notched the only goal for Los Angeles, which will host the
Stars again on Saturday night. Goaltender Dan Cloutier allowed four goals on
29 shots in the losing effort.
Only 19 seconds after the opening faceoff, the Stars opened a 1-0 lead. Niklas
Hagman held the puck along the rear boards and sent a pass out to Miettinen,
who beat Cloutier with a one-timer from the top of the crease.
Later in the opening period, the Stars moved ahead by two on Modano's second
goal of the season. A blazing slap shot by Lindros from the top of the right
circle was stopped, but the rebound caromed into the low slot. As he was
falling down, Modano, with this back facing the net, fired a turnaround wrist
shot that beat Cloutier at the 14:22 mark.
Less than two minutes into the middle session, another Dallas goal made it
3-0. Modano held control behind the net and his quick feed to the right post
found the stick of Morrow, whose backhander from in close deflected off the
left pad of a surprised Cloutier and lit the lamp at 1:55.
Ivanans' early third-period goal brought the Kings within two. The puck took a
big bounce off the back boards following a dump-in and Turco was out of
position when Ivanans fired the puck into the back of the cage with 17:09
remaining in regulation.
The Stars, though, put on the finishing touches with a power-play tally at the
13:09 mark of the final stanza courtesy of a great pass from Lindros. With Tom
Kostopoulos in the penalty box for hooking, the Stars worked the puck around
perimeter before Jere Lehtinen settled with control along the left half-wall.
The puck then went to Lindros near the left post. The big center drew two LA
defensemen towards him before he sent a swift cross-crease pass for an easy
one-timer by Jokinen.
The Kings, who produced 10 shots in the first period and 16 more in the
second, tested Turco only seven times in the final period.
