Things look down for Kings, up for Morrison

Brendan Morrison finally showed Southland hockey fans what he hoped to do all season, scoring a pair of power-play goals to lead Dallas to a 3-2 win Tuesday night over the Kings.

It was the type of performance Morrison expected to deliver for the Ducks when they signed him to a one-year, $2.75-million contract last summer. They hoped he would be their second-line center and Morrison, who was coming off torn knee ligaments, hoped he would show enough to get a longer deal this summer.

It didn’t work out well for either party.

Morrison struggled to regain his legs, and just after the All-Star break didn’t dress in consecutive games -- something that was unimaginable for a player who once went nearly seven full seasons without missing a game.

On March 3, he was waived. Dallas picked him up the next day and though the Stars have floundered, falling out of the playoff chase, Morrison has begun to show flashes of the player who was so valuable in Vancouver. After scoring 10 goals in 62 games with Anaheim, he now has six goals in 14 games with Dallas.

“It’s been a real tough year,” Morrison said. “It’s just wanting to have a good finish. You want to have pride. You don’t ever want to mail anything in.”

For much of the night, the Kings looked as if they had mailed it in. They often played as if their season was over, and for a growing number on the team, it is. Defenseman Kyle Quincey will undergo surgery for a herniated disc today, joining center Jarret Stoll (groin) and winger Alexander Frolov (lower body) among the Kings’ injured. Stoll is out for the season.

The Kings looked as if they were sorely missing their offense -- Frolov has scored a team-leading 28 goals and Stoll 18. Their only goal in the first 58 minutes came on Jack Johnson’s shot from the point that looked more like a misplay by Dallas goalie Marty Turco than anything else.

“I don’t think we were prepared as a team, period,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said.

The goal tied the score, 1-1, with 2:02 left in the first period. But then Morrison went to work. He took a slick cross-the-crease pass from Mike Modano and tucked it past a helpless Jonathan Quick to put Dallas ahead, 2-1, early in the second. He added another with a slap shot that got through traffic and Quick’s glove side, giving Dallas a 3-1 lead at 15:19 of the second period.

The Kings closed to within 3-2 on Anze Kopitar’s goal with 1:31 left, and for one of the few times all night, the arena and the Kings became energized. But it was short-lived.

“It was unacceptable,” said Kings forward Justin Williams, who played his first game at Staples Center. “It was ugly and it stinks.”

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billywitz@yahoo.com