LOS ANGELES — After Kevin Fiala’s overtime game-winner was waved off because of goaltender interference, the Los Angeles Kings knew they would have to get the job done against the Dallas Stars in a shootout on Friday.
But Adrian Kempe and Fiala each lit the lamp in the shootout against one of the NHL’s premier goalies, Jake Oettinger, while David Rittich stopped two shots on the other end to improve the Kings’ record to 17-3-1 at home.
Fiala tallied two points for the third game in a row and is now at 35 points on the season, including 13 since the turn of the new year.
“[Fiala] didn’t have a great first half at all, but now, he’s playing some of his best hockey,” said head coach Jim Hiller postgame.
Warren Foegele got things started early by scoring the opening goal 11 seconds after the opening faceoff. Fiala and Alex Laferriere, linemates on the Kings’ third grouping, each scored as the two teams traded goals in the second period. Dallas scored two unanswered goals in the third period to take the lead, but captain Anže Kopitar—who previously hadn’t scored since Dec. 29—evened the game up at four following a cerebral passing sequence.
LA’s win was its first shootout victory of the season. The victory was Hiller’s 50th as head coach, cementing himself in Kings history as the fastest to reach 50 wins, as he accomplished this feat in only 86 games.
Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner attended the game at Crypto.com Arena and broke the 5-4 result down on Skate of Thrones, TOT’s LA Kings podcast.