GAME 15: Kings 3, Stars 2

Look who's over .500! If this game is any indication of the hockey season from now on, Kings fans have a lot to look forward to.

Even though the point streaks of Brown and Kopitar came to a close Thursday, scoring came from other lines. Handzus, Stoll and Quincey all potted goals for the Kings, easing fears that L.A. is a one-line team. Quincey is a tremendous addition to the team, and his enthusiasm has infected his linemates whenever he's on the ice.

Guess who led all skaters in ice time? Yup, Drew Doughty. Amazing. We are witnessing something pretty special. Not since Ray Bourque have hockey fans been treated to a rookie defenseman with such poise. All I can say is... Stamkos who?

If there was anything bad to report on Thursday's game, it was the fact that the Kings were 2-for-8 with the man-advantage. Granted, the are middle of the pack on the PP. But once they start scoring power play goals with consistancy, while holding opponent's shots down and playing solid defense... the playoffs aren't out of question. Seriously.

• AP: Kings earn home-and-home sweep against Stars

• The Hockey News: Michal Handzus, Kyle Quincey lead Kings past Stars 3-2

• Yahoo: Kings team report


Note: LA Times, Daily News, Press-Telegram et al ,rarely send writers on road trips any more.

Looking through purple-hued glasses

• A Queen Among Kings: Is this really happening?


• The Royal Half: The rise of Frostoller

How great did the line of Alexander Frolov, Jarrett Stoll and Oscar Moller look tonight? The mixture of these players... the puck protection of Frolov, the grittiness and face-offiness of Stoll and the offensive potential of Moller... this might end up being a stronger line over the full season than Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and whatever slug ends up on the other wing. (How nice was it when Patrick O'Sullivan played that one shift tonight as their winger?)

• The Kingsternet: Kings Not Haunted By Past

What do Rob Blake, Sean Avery, Mark Parrish, Phillipe Boucher, Jeremy Roenick, Craig Conroy, Mike Cammalleri, Andreas Lilja, Brad Stuart, Mike Weaver, Ian Lapperriere, Frantisek Kaberle, Tim Gleason, Joe Corvo and George Parros all have in common?
Besides being former Kings, none of them have scored a goal in the games they've played against the Kings this season.

• Press Box Perspective: Four in a row for the Kings


• Frozen Royalty: Make It Four In A Row: Kings Get Past Stars Again, 3-2


From the other side of the ice: the Dallas view

• Dallas Morning News: Dallas Stars sink deeper in Pacific with 3-2 loss

It's not surprising that the referees had short leashes on their whistles, considering this was a rematch of a game – won by LA, 2-1, on Tuesday – that ended with blood on the ice, the captains fighting and then a shootout.
The Stars dug a deep hole early. They were outshot and outhit, and were dominated in the faceoff circle. They also committed more penalties.

• Five for Fighting: "I see a mistrust in players"

That is one damning statement, but it's an accurate one by coach Dave Tippett after another shoddy loss by this team. And when players don't trust each other, that's big, big trouble. That's the one thing that has always been in Stars teams of the past. Trust. And a cohesiveness that would get them through their troubles. That's not there right now.

• Dallas Stars Hockey Analysis: League-leading #11

• Andrew's Dallas Stars page: Slow starting Stars fall again to Kings

The Dallas Stars' first period against the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night resembled their start to the season - it was sluggish.

The Stars fell behind 2-0 in the first 13 minutes of the game and never recovered, falling 3-2 to the Kings at the American Airlines Center. And this was a loss that hit the Stars hard.

Kings-related stories

• Daily News: Trying to fix the stink of `Rinkside'

As a concept, the network philosophy to enhance the 20 high-definition telecasts of Kings and Ducks games this season has been a haphazard hybrid of a small dose of traditional coverage merged with alarger contingent of low-level and robotic camera spots around the rink. But when put into action, FSN's salesmanship of the concept has not been something Dale Carnegie would endorse as a way to win friends or influence viewers.

• Farther off the wall: This not-so-rinky-dink 'Rinkside' flap

We'd assumed that "Rinkside" this season would be done in the way it has been in the past -- as an alternative feed to the "traditional" NHL telecast. For next Tuesday's Lakers-Chicago Bulls telecast, for example, FSN West will carry the tradition telecast with Joel Meyers and Stu Lantz, while FSN Prime will do the "Courtside View" coverage -- low camera angles, boom mikes in crazy places, no broadcasters, and Bill Macdonald running all over the place behind the scenes.

That's a nice compromise. But it's not practical, especially financially, on the hockey side of the ledger.