Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars were not going to let the same thing happen again after blowing a three-goal lead the night before.
The Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 on Thursday, with Seguin leading the way with two goals in the first period and Scott Wedgewood making 34 saves for his first shutout of the season.
“I think once we got our lead, we didn’t back down much.” “said Jason Robertson, a native of Southern California who scored and assisted. “Our penalty kill was fantastic. Wedgie, too. We just kept going and squeezed the game out.”
The Stars, who moved into first place in the Central Division with 61 points, led the Sharks 3-0 Wednesday night in San Jose before the Sharks rallied for five unanswered goals. Dallas outscored the Kings three times in the first period and never looked back.
Aside from being motivated by Wednesday’s meltdown, Dallas took advantage of a Los Angeles team that had just returned from its first four-day break of the season.
Seguin also had an assist, bringing his season total to three points. It was his 44th game with the Stars with multiple goals. Only teammate Jamie Benn (45) has more points with Dallas.
Since Roope Hintz’s upper-body injury, Seguin has eight points (five goals, three assists) in six games centering the top line.
“Yeah, it’s fantastic. I know how to play with those guys, and I enjoy doing so “Seguin stated. “”I know I’m just warming Roope’s seat, but they’re great players and I can find open spaces out there.”
Wedgewood improved to 3-2 against the Kings, recording his sixth NHL shutout.
“Obviously, they’ve been hot, and they’ve been steamrolling through the league for the last month or so. So coming in here after what happened last time and walking away with two points is huge for us,” he explained.
Los Angeles had won four of its previous six games but was blanked for the third time since December 8. After scoring seven times in 18 chances this month, the Kings went 0 for four on the power play.
Pheonix Copley, who dropped to 12-3, was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots. Jonathan Quick made seven saves in the final 33 minutes.
“There’s no way that team down the hall, with the leaders and coach they have, is going to blow a three-goal lead in back-to-back games,” says the coach “According to Kings coach Todd McLellan. “We made our own misery early on and tried to find our game as the game progressed.”
At 6:54 of the first period, Seguin’s snap shot from the top of the slot went off the inside of Copley’s blocker and through his legs.
At 17:20, the Stars’ centre scored his second goal in the first period for the first time since 2017 with a shot from the left faceoff circle. Only 84 seconds later, Esa Lindell made it 3-0 when his snap shot from the slot hit the post and went in.
At 7:27 of the second, Robertson chased Copley down with his second attempt on a wraparound. Robertson was stopped on his first attempt before ascending and beating Copley short side.
Robertson, who grew up in Arcadia, about 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, is tied for fourth in the league with 31 goals. This season, the forward has three goals and six points in three games against the Kings.
