SoCal NHL Preview

Dallas (42-29-6) at Los Angeles (31-40-7), 1:00 pm

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Dallas Stars finally earned a point in their last game. They'll need a few more if they want to wrap up a playoff spot. The Stars try to snap a five-game winless streak Saturday, when they visit the lowly Los Angeles Kings.

Dallas, which had lost four games in a row in regulation, notched its first point since posting a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on March 9 by forcing overtime against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. However, in the extra session, the Stars got into penalty trouble as goaltender Marty Turco was given a double-minor for high-sticking at 1:15 and defenseman Trevor Daley was whistled for hooking 91 seconds later. Joe Thornton proceeded to score the game-winning goal during the 5-on-3 power play with 2:02 left to play. Despite the loss, the one point was good enough to draw Dallas (42-29-6) even in points with the Calgary Flames (40-27-10) for fifth place in the Western Conference. Colorado made it three teams with 90 points on Friday by recording a 5-4 shootout victory over Edmonton.

Meanwhile, the Kings, who are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the lowest point total in the NHL with 69, improved to 3-0-1 over their last four games with a decisive 4-0 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. Rookie Erik Ersberg made 38 saves for Los Angeles, registering his second career shutout in just his 10th NHL start. The 26-year-old Swedish netminder is 5-3-3 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage since being recalled from the American Hockey League on February 21.