Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kari Lehtonen posted 27 stops for his first shutout of the year to lead the Dallas Stars in a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Ryan Garbutt and Jason Spezza scored for the Stars, who have won their past two after dropping seven in a row.
"It was a great road game by us and our goaltender had a really great game," said Spezza. "That first win to stop a losing streak is tough to get, but once you do it really helps with the confidence."
Martin Jones allowed both goals on 27 shots for the Kings, who have lost seven of their last nine games.
"We had a couple good chances there, but for the most part (Lehtonen) was seeing all of the shots," said Kings center Tyler Toffoli.
Garbutt scored at 13:13 of the first period on a shot from a sharp angle at the left side of the net for his third of the year.
Dallas had a goal waived off in the second period as a replay showed that the puck had hit the netting over the boards several seconds before the goal.
However, the team scored quickly after, as Jamie Benn fired a pass from the right wing to the left where Spezza skated it over to the slot and wristed it in with Tyler Seguin providing a screen in front.
Lehtonen kept the Kings off the board with a beautiful diving glove save on a Jarret Stoll shot with just under seven minutes to play in the second.
Los Angeles pulled Jones with 2 1/2 minutes to play, but was unable to get any pressure on Lehtonen.
Game Notes
Lehtonen has 28 shutouts in his career ... Dallas hosts Minnesota on Saturday ... Los Angeles hosts Anaheim on Saturday ... Los Angeles had taken a 3-1 decision over the Stars in Dallas on Nov. 4 ... Dallas went 0-for-4 on the power play while Los Angeles was 0-for-3.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.