Kings End 1997 With 2-2 Stalemate

Critics around the NHL keep waiting for the Kings to begin their annual folding act, but every time they seem to be on the verge of doing so, they bounce back.

That was the case Wednesday night when the Kings fell behind by two goals to one of the league’s best teams, the Dallas Stars, in the first seven minutes but rallied to finish with a 2-2 tie in front of a sellout crowd of 16,928 at Reunion Arena.

Goaltender Stephane Fiset made numerous key stops to keep the Kings in the game, and Craig Johnson and Dan Bylsma scored goals 46 seconds apart in the third period to help the Kings offset the surprise return of Dallas all-star center Mike Modano, who had not played since Dec. 3 because of knee surgery.

“Sometimes you can show a team too much respect. . . . Everyone knows how good Dallas is, we know that they have a lot of potent player,” defenseman Garry Galley said about the Kings, who remain at .500 with a 16-16-7 record. “Tonight, we gave them too much respect early and they came at us, but everyone felt good [and] we just stayed with it. One of the things that we tend to do is change our game. . . . we didn’t, and eventually the game turned around.”

The Kings started off like a team thinking of stopping the Stars instead of reacting and that cost them early.

Dallas dominated the first few shifts and the Kings seemed determined to allow the Stars all the ice they needed. With Modano back in the lineup, the Stars obliged with two goals by journeyman Tony Hrkac in the first 6:47.

Hrkac, who has spent most of his 10-year career in the minors, made it look as easy by scoring from the left circle at 2:18 and then deflecting in a blue line shot by Shawn Chambers for a power-play score at 6:47.

With Dallas unbeaten in its last six games and having Ed Belfour, who has seven shutouts this season, in goal, the Kings appeared destined to lose to the Stars for the third time this season.

Dallas, known for its neutral zone trap, had outshot the Kings, 10-1, over the first 11:20 and had a 22-4-5 record when it scored first. The Stars also rank second in the league in goals scored and goals allowed.

The Kings responded with grit, however. Led by the checking lines of Ian Laperriere-Dan Bylsma-Sandy Moger and Nathan LaFayette-Steve McKenna-Russ Courtnall, they became more physical and more patient.

Although they did not score for the rest of the first period and all of the second, they began to gain momentum and outshot Dallas, 18-4, over the next 33:15 of the game.

They held Dallas to only two shots on goal in the second period and forced the Stars into four penalties over that span. The Kings finally got on the scoreboard on their fifth power play when Johnson deflected in a blue-line shot by Galley at 3:O3 of the third period.

“Specialty teams are sometimes the huge difference,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “They got a huge goal on their power play, and if we don’t score on that power play, it’s a whole different game.”

After cutting Dallas’ lead in half, the Kings did not take long to tie the score, thanks to one of their checking lines. After Moger had two shots blocked high in the slot, Bylsma snuck in front of Belfour for the rebound to score at 3:49.

“[In a] checking role we decided that we just don’t have go out there and just check, we could score goals too,” Moger said. “Play strong defensively, but if we had chances, just to [take them]. We didn’t have to be a total checking lines.”

Dallas, which had not lost to the Kings since April 1995, turned up the pressure the rest of the game and had several solid scoring chances, but Fiset, who stopped 24 of 26 shots, was up to the challenge.

Modano, who had four shots on goal but did not score, even had one of his late attempts stopped by Fiset’s head. With Dallas on a power play and less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Fiset dived to keep the puck out of the net the only way he could.

“I though I was a soccer goalie,” Fiset said. “[Modano] was ready for a one-timer and I thought he would shoot it right away. But I think he missed the shot and the puck went that way. The only thing I could do was hit it with my helmet.”