For the first time all season, the Los Angeles Kings had a lead after two periods. They didn’t hold on to it, but in the end, the Kings kept their 3-on-3 overtime magic rolling and finally got in the win column against the Dallas Stars.
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The story early was Nic Dowd’s first NHL goal, the story in the middle was Tanner Pearson scoring his third goal in two games, and the story in the end looked like it was going to be how outstanding the Kings looked as they clung to a one-goal lead. The Kings actually outshot Dallas 11-5 in the final 20, and the Stars looked rather hopeless every time they tried to exit their zone. Unfortunately, the Stars have a lot of really good offensive players, and Jason Spezza scored with the extra attacker to send it to overtime. It was a tough one for Peter Budaj, who had rebounded well from an early puckhandling miscue up to that point.
So instead, the story would be whatever happened in overtime. And after Dallas held the puck for the preceding minute without threatening Budaj’s net, Tyler Toffoli took the puck all the way from behind his net to the dot and found an open Alec Martinez in the slot. One perfect shot later, the Kings had their second point, as well a huge boost heading into a three-game homestand.