Lehtonen Stuns as Dallas Stars Shutout Kings, 2-0

The Dallas Stars were triumphant over the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Staples Center in a rather eventful game that had everything from goals to spectacular saves. Kari Lehtonen dominated and led the Stars to victory, getting Dallas back to even in wins and losses on the season.

Recap

The Stars and Kings remained scoreless despite numerous opportunities at both ends of the ice in the first period, until Ryan Garbutt put Dallas up 1-0 with an unassisted tally at 13:13. The goal came just seconds after a King hit a post two hundred feet away, which would’ve given the game a much different tone.

Trevor Daley was hit by a puck and went to the dressing room with a little more than five minutes remaining and did not return to finish the first period. Dallas was 0-2 on the power play, but the Kings were called for their second high sticking penalty of the night with 14 seconds remaining, giving Dallas almost a full power play to start the second.

Los Angeles successfully killed the remaining time on the Stars’ power play and Daley returned to start the period. Jamie Benn looked to have put the Stars up 2-0, but it was disallowed because the referees determined that the puck hit the netting before it went in the net, making the puck dead. Seconds later, however, a pretty passing play led to Jason Spezza’s goal to put Dallas up 2-0 about halfway through the game.

Lehtonen made a spectacular save when a little less than seven minutes remained in the second period to preserve Dallas’ two-goal lead, which the Stars took into the second intermission.

The third period saw no scoring despite multiple opportunities. The Kings came out flying and even got a power play chance a minute and a half into the period, but they were unable to convert. Then with three minutes remaining Los Angeles pulled their goaltender, Martin Jones, in hopes of erasing the two-goal deficit only to be unsuccessful. Lehtonen stopped every scoring attempt to earn his first shutout of the season with 27 saves, improving the Dallas Stars to 6-6-4 on the season.

Thoughts and Observations

Lehtonen resembled the pure larceny he displayed for most of last season, which led the team to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in five years. His save against the King’s Jarret Stoll seems to be the front-runner for save of the year. When Lehtonen is on his game the Stars are an infinitely more difficult team to play against and his play inspires confidence that is very evident throughout the rest of the line up.

The resilience of the first line after Benn’s no goal is also something to be proud of. This trio has been able to overcome adversity and prove that they’re very capable of scoring immediately following a disallowed goal. Jim Nill has to be ecstatic about the chemistry between the three forwards on the first line and their incredible offensive abilities.

Garbutt was another crucial player for Dallas tallying one goal and getting credit for 8 shots, while John Klingberg tallied nearly 24 minutes of ice time in just his second NHL game.

The Kings, on the other hand, never really got to play their game. They were unsuccessful on three power play opportunities, while tying Dallas in shots on goal with 27. Their best scoring chance took place right before Garbutt scored his unassisted goal to make it 1-0 in the game and it was all downhill from there for them.

Overall this game was exactly what Dallas needed to instill confidence in their game. They didn’t have to rely on Tyler Seguin to provide goals for them to win and young players like Klingberg stepped up and held their own. Lehtonen’s performance was spectacular and it was exactly what the doctor ordered for his play as well.

Be sure to check back for a preview and post game analysis when the Stars take on the Minnesota Wild this Saturday at the American Airlines Center! (Note that the game starts at 1PM)