Kempe scores in OT, Kings hand Stars 4th straight loss

DALLAS -- Adrian Kempe scored 37 seconds into overtime, and the Los Angeles Kings recovered for a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

Kempe collected a pass from Quinton Byfield and fluttered a snap shot from the edge of the right face-off circle past Jake Oettinger. He also scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime win at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

“They were buzzing from the start. [Kempe] was there like always, kept us in the game,” Kings forward Kevin Fiala said. “They came hard and we tried everything. We had a bad start, honestly. We’ve got to be better next time. Play a full 60 minutes. They outworked us and outcompeted us in my opinion at the start. But overall, we got the win. Even days when we don’t feel it, we can still work hard, and we did in my opinion. It’s a good win.”

Corey Perry and Cody Ceci scored, and Byfield had two assists for the Kings (3-3-2), who had lost four straight (0-2-2) prior to their past two wins. Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves.

Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist, Roope Hintz had two assists, and Jason Robertson scored for the Stars (3-3-1), who have lost their past four (0-3-1). Oettinger made 22 saves.

“We were good in all the departments except the one, the most important one. Our power play looked good, it was dangerous. We gave up another PK goal early. Five-on-five we’ve got to find some scoring there,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We had a lot of chances there. We outchanced them heavily 5-on-5. We’ve got to find the back of the net. Sometimes the results lag. Coaches can go to bed at night looking at games like this and go, ‘Okay, we’re moving in the right direction.’”

Perry gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 18:48 of the first period during a 5-on-3 power play. Fiala sent a shot on net and the rebound fell to Perry, who sent it past a sprawling Oettinger at the top of the crease.

It was Perry's first goal with Los Angeles. He missed the first six games of the season while recovering from an offseason knee injury that required surgery.

“I thought Dallas played really well. They were ready to play. We started really poorly,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “Forechecked to get the power play and then scored the goal, and I think that just settled us just a little bit. Probably the biggest moment in the game. Started competing more in the second and third, but they were better and our goalie played terrific.”

Robertson tied it 1-1 at 4:58 of the second period, scoring a power-play goal with a wrist shot from just above the left face-off circle.

“I thought we played well, and they got the last laugh,” Robertson said. “It was a neutral zone battle for a bit. A lot of breakouts, a lot of dumps. Scoring chance-wise, I’m sure it was pretty even 5-on-5, but it felt like we were both suffocating each other. It was a tight-checking game, they’re a good team, and it came down to the wire.”

Ceci gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 6:27 when his shot from inside the blue line deflected in off of the stick of Stars forward Mavrik Bourque.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” Ceci said. “I thought we buckled down. We knew what was on the line. We knew it was going to be a close one tonight. Wasn’t necessarily a bunch of tic-tac-toe plays going on there, we were kind of in each other’s face all night. We got it to overtime and then let our skill guys take over.”

Johnston tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 2:32 of the third period. He set up at the back door and buried a rebound into a wide-open net.

“They defend well. They don’t give you a ton of space off the rush. They kind of force you to play it behind them and get your forecheck going," Johnston said. "They’re a good team, but at the end of the day, we’re a good team. I think for us, we feel that if we do it our way, do it the way that we can do it, we can win and be successful no matter who we’re playing. At the end of the day, you’ve got to win.”

NOTES: Perry (40 years, 160 days) became the second-oldest player to score a goal with the Kings, following Larry Robinson (40 years, 317 days on April 14, 1992). … Kempe has scored nine overtime goals, which is tied with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown for second in Kings history.