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Adrian Kempe scores late as Kings end Stars’ winning streak

Dallas Stars center Ty Dellandrea falls as he battles for the puck with Kings' Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.
Dallas Stars center Ty Dellandrea, center, falls as he battles for the puck with Kings center Anze Kopitar, left, and right wing Adrian Kempe during the first period on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Adrian Kempe broke a tie on a power play midway through the third period and the Kings beat Dallas 3-2 on Tuesday night to snap the Stars’ four-game winning streak.

Pheonix Copley made 28 saves for his seventh straight victory. He’s the fourth goalie in Kings history to have such a streak.

Anze Kopitar and Rasmus Kupari also scored for Los Angeles.

Jason Robertson scored for Dallas to extend his points streak to eight games. Miro Heiskanen also scored.

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The Stars failed to pick up at least one point for just the fifth time in their last 25 games. Dallas has 15 wins and five overtime or shootout losses in that span.

The Kings’ worrisome loss to the Philadelphia Flyers shows they have a lot of work ahead if they want to make an impact in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Dec. 31, 2022

Kempe’s power-play goal put the Kings ahead 3-2 at 9:25 of the third period. He and Kevin Fiala used their speed to create an impromptu 2-on-1 rush, with Kempe burying his shot from just outside the crease to net 15 goals in consecutive seasons for the first time.

The action picked up in the second period, leaving the game tied at 2.

Heiskanen got the Stars on the board at 6:31 on a long shot from the blue line through traffic.

Kopitar put the home team back up 2-1 at 8:13, redirecting in Drew Doughty’s shot from distance for his 11th goal of the season.

Robertson made it 2-all 56 seconds later, burying his wrist shot from the slot off Joe Pavelski’s crisp centering pass.

The Kings led after the first period on Kupari’s third goal. He beat Jake Oettinger on a wrist shot from the right circle 7:28 into the game, set up by Fiala’s 28th assist.

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