Game 69: Kings 3, Stars 2

To peep out all the videos online about this game, check out today's Hockeywood Dailies.

What do the Kings, Canucks and Sharks all have in common? All three are peaking at the right time in the West, being winners of seven out of their last ten games. However, the Kings and Sharks may be headed for a collision course that may drastically alter the landscape in the Western Conference playoffs.

The Kings won in dramatic fashion at the American Airlines Center in Dallas late in Sunday's game, as Michal Handzus popped the puck past Kari Lehtonen with less than a minute left in the third period to give the Kings a hard-fought victory.

The dramatic part came 22 seconds earlier. The Stars had puled their goalie and just scored the seeming tying goal, when Jamie Langenbrunner was able to slip the puck under Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick at 19:17.

Cue the Mission Impossible music. The Kings won the faceoff and was able to get it deep in the Stars zone. Willie Mitchell was able to block a clearing pass and throw it at Lehtonen. Wayne Simmonds was able to pick it up from there, skate behind the net and pass it to Alexei Ponikarovsky, who slide the puck over to the Slovakian Steam Train, who then scored a scrappy, playoff-type goal.

The Kings collapsed upon their hero, who had been checked down to the ice by a late hit from a Stars defender and rose to join the celebration. The goal assured the Kings of their third win on this short roadie through the West. And it was also a historic win for Quick, which was no. 30 on the season. He became the first King ever to tally 30 wins in consecutive seasons. Two seasons EVER, actually. And like I said last game, Quick had a real good shot at matching last season's gaudy 40-goal total.

This season, Quick has gone 30-17-5, and is undefeated against Dallas in three games this season. He's always been good against Dallas, going 9-3-0 in his first two seasons. The best the Kings can hope for is a tie in the season series, which concludes at Staples Center on April 2.

Earlier in the game, Drew Doughty scored a power play goal, giving L.A. their third PP goal in as many games. Later in the second period, Dustin Penner scored his second goal as a Kings to make it 2-0. Four minutes later, future King center Brad Richards gave the Stars hope when he scored to make it 2-1.

The win gave the Kings 12 one-goal games on the season. It's those type of games teams need to get comfortable with if they hope to contend in the playoffs, where games are played much closer to the vest, and offensive opportunities dry up faster than Joan Rivers' skin in Palm Springs. (Too dated?)

There are eight teams in a mortal combat for the final five spots. The Kings are currently tied for the No. 4 spot with Phoenix. More importantly, this dandy little streak the Kings find themselves on has pulled them within three points of the San Jose Sharks, leaders of the Pacific Division. There are two games left between the clubs, which is deadlocked at two games a piece.

Can you imagine what would happen if the Kings were able to sneak up on the Sharks? It's not so far-fetched. The Sharks have a decent PP, but their PK unit is near the bottom of the league. The Kings' special teams, on the other hand, is more balanced. There is always room for improvement, however.

I've always wondering what would happen if the Kings and Ducks met in the playoffs. What would happen if these two teams matched up?

• AP: Handzus’ last-minute goal lifts Kings over Stars

Off the ensuing faceoff, Michal Handzus set up in front amid a crowd of bodies and steered Alexei Ponikarovsky’s centering feed past goalie Kari Lehtonen for the win.

• LAKings.com: Handzus late game hero as Kings beat Stars

Fifty-nine minutes of tight-checking hockey. Big hits. Big saves. Momentum-turning special teams-play. And, then, one minute of barely-controlled chaos.

• NHL.com: Kings top Stars in wild finish 

With Sunday's victory, Los Angeles now has 83 points and is in sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference. Dallas remains at 82 and is tied for fifth with Chicago, which fell to Washington in overtime earlier in the day.

• Dallas News: Stars look to 'get past' last-minute 3-2 loss to Kings

The life of a professional athlete was encapsulated in the final minute of Sunday’s 3-2 Stars loss to Los Angeles — it’s either incredible ecstasy or painful misery.

They said it

“Obviously we were disappointed. We don’t want them to score that late, but after those goals we’re always talking about the next shift, to have a good next shift. There’s no panic. We’ve got a lot of confidence right now. Obviously it’s not great that they score, but we had to keep going. It was a 2-2 game on the road, so we just played the situation.” – Michal Handzus, on whether anything in particular was said after the tying goal.

“I’d say all three of us, me, Kopi and Willy. On my goal, Kopi made a great pass, but the play started with Willy on the blue line, making an extra effort after getting hit and sticking with it. Kopi came in, and you needed a base to start the play like that, to get it going, with the tic-tac-toe play that me and Kopi had.” – Dustin Penner, on developing chemistry with his linemates.

“That’s a tough one, whenever that happens. I thought Quicker had it covered, and he kind of lost it, but what a response. That’s the main thing. What a response by that line. They get the puck to the net and dig in. There’s a lot of traffic, a lot of people banging and hacking around the blue paint, and the puck pops on Zeus’ stick. So it was a good finish for us.” – Terry Murray, on scoring after allowing the late goal.