Kings Still Star Struck

The last time the Kings beat Dallas, they had a guy named Gretzky, who spends his time these days accepting Hall of Fame accolades.

Darryl Sydor had two assists for the Kings back then, and now he plays for the Stars.

Nineteen Kings-Dallas games have come and gone since then, including one Wednesday night in which, perhaps predictably, Richard Matvichuk was in the wrong place at the right time and rebounded his rebound past Marcel Cousineau at 2:55 of overtime to give the Stars a 3-2 win.

The Kings still earned a point, courtesy of the new NHL overtime rules, but it was tarnished by the Stars’ victory, which delighted an announced 17,001 at Reunion Arena.

“I don’t know how to feel,” Coach Andy Murray said. “It’s the first time it has happened to us. You feel good for a point, and then you lose one.”

King captain Rob Blake knew how he felt.

“It was totally my fault,” he said. “I’ve got to tie [Matvichuk] up better than that.”

The Kings had a flurry of their own, 1 1/2 minutes into the overtime, before Mike Modano gathered in a loose puck and started a flurry of his own as the clock neared two minutes to play.

Modano shot from high in the right face-off circle, and Cousineau turned it back, but the rebound hit Blake in the leg. Richard Jackman and Matvichuk were in the crease, with Blake taking them on, and Jackman rebounded.

Then Matvichuk took a shot, and Cousineau stopped it with his stick. Matvichuk got his own rebound and sent the puck just out of Cousineau’s reach.

Thank goodness, according to Matvichuk, who was caught up in the moment.

“[As a defenseman] I don’t even know why I was down there, because I wasn’t supposed to be,” he said. “I knew I’d better score or I’d be in trouble. I took a hack at it, and then I took a hack at it again.”

And hacked out a piece of the Kings’ heart.

Dallas had been mired in a five-game winless streak, going 0-3-2 en route, and playing like anything but the defending Stanley Cup champion.

“We’ve just been climbing steadily the last two weeks,” Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “It’s been building and building, and it’s been frustrating.”

Clearly the prescription was a dose of the Kings.

Aspirin should work so well.

“We enjoy playing L.A.,” said Modano, who assisted on the Stars’ first goal, a short-handed effort scored by Mike Keane only 1:08 into the game. “They play an open system that you don’t see very often. So many teams play the [neutral-zone] trap. They’re fun to play against. They try to make big plays, and when they don’t make them, it can open up big plays.”

Seven wins in a row--the Kings last earned a point against Dallas on Dec. 31, 1997--make it even more fun.

A lot of big plays have come and gone since then.

Among them was a remedy for what has ailed the Dallas power play, which has been as dry as West Texas in July.

Jamie Langenbrunner’s power-play goal in the opening period gave the Stars a 2-1 lead and ended a dormancy that has lasted through 16 man-advantages.

Jason Blake took a pass from Brad Chartrand and converted to make the score 2-2 going into the third period.

It was the second goal and fourth point in the last three games from Blake.

The Kings had their own power-play tries, and their drought reached 28 opportunities.

It has gotten so bad that Murray tried a third unit, made up of Craig Johnson, Jason Blake and Marko Tuomainen, to try to generate any kind of advantage with the man advantage.

No luck, and the power remained turned off as it has been since Nov. 14, five games ago, when Rob Blake scored at Phoenix.

“We’re trying things, looking for answers,” Murray said.

Dallas clearly isn’t the place to look when you’re with the Kings.

Murray wanted to look at getting three points on a two-game trip, but Rob Blake was taking things more personally.

“This one will stay with me for a while,” he said.

Not as long as the Kings’ plight at the hands of the Stars has lasted.

* NEW JERSEY 2, DUCKS 1

Bobby Holik got the go-ahead goal for the Devils five seconds before getting ejected. Page 3