Kings edge Stars in shootout for 3rd straight win

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Fiala scored for the third straight game, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4 in a shootout at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

Fiala, who has five goals in his past three games, also scored in the shootout. That came after he appeared to have won it at 4:23 of overtime on a one-timer from the high slot, but a video review determined Drew Doughty committed goaltender interference on the play.

“He didn’t have a great first half (of the season) at all, but now, to me, he’s playing some of his best hockey if you take it back a week, 10 days,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said of Fiala.

Phillip Danault had two assists for the Kings (29-17-6), who have won three in a row. David Rittich made 26 saves.

“It’s the best we played against them, and I thought it was one of our best games of the year, to be honest with you,” Hiller said. “Just all in, just the different elements. We were good on the rush, were good in the O-zone.”

Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist, and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves for the Stars (34-18-2), who have lost two in a row.

“That was not the final score you’d think of with two of the top defensive teams in the League, but we stuck with it,” Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley said. “We kind of pulled ourselves back in it and at the end of the day got a point, but I think we’re pretty unhappy with that outcome.”

Warren Foegele put the Kings ahead 1-0 just 11 seconds into the game. He scored on the rebound of Danault’s sharp-angled shot in the low slot after Trevor Moore deflected Harley’s pass in the offensive zone.

Duchene tied it 1-1 at 19:58 of the first period, scoring from above the left circle through a screen by Mason Marchment.

“First 15 minutes we weren’t very good,” Duchene said. “The last five minutes of the first period we started to come to life, and I thought we were pretty good after that.”

Fiala put the Kings back in front 2-1 at 8:16 of the second period, roofing a shot through the legs of Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel from below the right circle.

Harley tied it 2-2 at 9:29, burying the rebound of Cody Ceci's one-timer from the point.

Alex Laferriere gave Los Angeles a 3-2 lead at 11:43. Oettinger got a piece of Quinton Byfield’s one-timer, but the rebound caromed off the end boards and back out into the crease, where a charging Laferriere knocked it in.

“Some awful bounces tonight,” Duchene said. “The one off the backboard, I still don’t know how that happened after it hit him in the blocker, but really tough. [Oettinger] was really good for us and didn’t deserve a couple of those breaks.”

Fiala had the secondary assist on the play for his third straight multipoint game.

“I mean, those two (Byfield and Fiala) are such dynamic players, and whenever they have the puck they are going to make unbelievable plays," Laferriere said. "So for me, it’s just kind of finding open space."

Mavrik Bourque tied 3-3 at 6:53 of the third period, skating into the slot and putting the rebound of Jamie Benn’s shot past a sprawling Rittich.

Duchene put the Stars in front 4-3 at 9:41 on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Anze Kopitar tied it back up 4-4 at 11:40 when Adrian Kempe's backdoor pass deflected in off his right skate from the edge of the crease. It was Kopitar’s 432nd career goal, passing Dave Taylor for third in Kings history.

“It’s too bad to lose that one after we fought for the lead, but like I said, they’re a good team,” Duchene said. “That could be a team we see down the road. Tough loss, but big point.”

Kopitar had gone 15 games without a goal since scoring twice against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 29.

“He was a little more patient than he would like to be on that one,” Hiller said. “Sometimes you get into that funk and it goes that long, you wonder, ‘Am I ever going to get one again?’”

NOTES: Byfield has six assists during a three-game point streak. … The Kings have scored 14 goals during their three-game winning streak. They scored 15 goals in the 10 games prior to that (2-7-1). … The Stars are 1-14-1 when trailing after two periods.