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Friday, Apr. 7 10:30pm ET
Kings get playoff date with Detroit | |||||
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (AP) -- The Los Angeles Kings only had flight plans at stake. The Dallas Stars had even less on the line. The lack of incentive was evident in a flat pre-playoff NHL game, as the Kings won 3-2 Friday night. "We worked for the lead, then both teams kind of shut it down," said Kings winger Glen Murray, who assisted on two power-play goals. "It wasn't exactly a playoff-type game." It did determine where the Kings would begin the postseason, as they clinched fifth place in the Western Conference. That means Los Angeles draws Detroit as its first-round foe. "The only good thing about that is that at least we know where we'll be flying," the Kings' Luc Robitaille said. Power-play goals by Jaroslav Modry and Jere Karalahti helped the Kings increase their point total to 92, while Phoenix remained at 89 after a 3-1 loss to San Jose. Both teams have one game remaining. "When we started the season, our goal was to finish as high as possible," first-year Kings coach Andy Murray said. "With a win Sunday (in the season finale, at Anaheim) we have a chance to wind up as one of the top 10 teams in the league. That would be pretty good for us." The season's 19th sellout of 18,118 saw the Kings finish with a home record of 21-15-5. The Kings converted two of their four power-play chances against Dallas, which entered the game killing 89.7 percent of extra-man chances. "This was a tough game for us to play," said Dallas center Mike Modano, whose team is locked into the Western Conference's second slot. "You try to keep it simple, focus on some things you need to work on, just to get something positive out of the game." The Kings, who snapped a 22-game winless streak against Dallas with a 3-2 victory in their last meeting Feb. 11, started strongly. Modry's power-play goal gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 7:03 of the first period, and Ian Laperriere made it 2-0 10 minutes later. Karalahti scored another power-play goal 3:49 into the second period for a 3-0 lead. It also was the first time in 20 games that Los Angeles had managed more than two goals through two periods. Kings goalie Jamie Storr had a low-key game until Karalahti drew a tripping penalty at 6:20 of the second period. The Stars, who had totaled five shots to that point, unleashed a four-shot flurry on the power play, with Kirk Muller making the last one count at 8:14 to make it 3-1. Muller scored his second goal of the game, and seventh of the season, a minute after Dallas pulled goalie Manny Fernandez with 2:16 to go. He wrapped in assists by Richard Matvichuk and Darryl Sydor to cut the Kings' lead to 3-2 at 18:46. Storr stopped 21 of 23 shots, continuing a strong streak that fuels Andy Murray's optimism entering the playoffs. "He played great, but both of our goaltenders are finally healthy at the same time," the Kings' coach said, also referring to Stephane Fiset, who virtually split regular-season playing time with Storr. "We'll probably stick with one of them in the playoffs. But having both healthy is double your pleasure." | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Dallas Clubhouse Los Angeles Clubhouse RECAPS Pittsburgh 2 Buffalo 1
Los Angeles 3
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