No Empty Gesture by Smolinski

The Kings were delighted when Bryan Smolinski ended his career-long 30-game goal-scoring drought Monday night, even if it was with an empty-net goal.

Not that they were dissatisfied with his overall play before then.

“We think Bryan’s still doing some effective things for us or he wouldn’t be in the lineup,” Coach Andy Murray said before the Kings’ 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars. “We still have the belief system in him because he’s doing other things.”

Smolinski consistently scores high, Murray said, in the team’s efficiency ratings, a system in which points are awarded for activities such as hits, blocked shots and shots on net, as well as for goals and assists.

“I think there was a period during this drought ... where it was affecting other parts of his game,” Murray said, “and there were a couple of discussions we had where, as a coach, I indicated there are only certain levers you can pull, and one is to limit ice time. The other is to not allow the player to play.

“He didn’t want those alternatives to be considered, so he got his game going again in certain other areas.”

Lately, Smolinski’s name is showing up in the scoring summary too, indicating that his slump may have ended. He also had an assist Monday, giving him five points in four games after he had registered none in 13.

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Ziggy Palffy also had a goal and an assist against the Stars, his fourth multi-point effort in five games.... Adam Deadmarsh’s game-winning goal was his fifth, tied with Palffy for the team lead. Steve Heinze is third with four.... Jason Allison’s assist was his ninth point in five games.... The Kings’ victory Monday was their ninth in a row and 11th in 13 games at Staples Center against teams that had played at Anaheim the night before. The Mighty Ducks are 3-2-0-1 against teams that played at Staples Center the previous night. “It makes a big difference,” King defenseman Mathieu Schneider said of the schedule advantage.