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Miettinen, Barch score huge goals as Stars defeat Kings

Mar 22, 2007 - 6:36 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Antti Miettinen and rookie Krys Barch scored rare goals at an opportune time for the Dallas Stars.

Miettinen and Barch scored 79 seconds apart early in the third period to erase a deficit and lift the Stars to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

After halting a 29-game goalless drought Sunday against Phoenix, Miettinen forged a 2-2 tie at 2:52 of the final session. With just one tally in his previous 14 contests, Barch put Dallas in front for good at 4:11 with a blast from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat goaltender Sean Burke to the short side.

"I think that's always one of your best plays, have guys going to the net," Barch said. "I just turned around and tried to get that puck on the net, and it went in. You know, you just find ways to win."

It was the second game-winning goal of the season for Barch, who also scored the decisive tally in a 4-1 victory over Anaheim on February 23.

Miettinen erased a 2-1 deficit when he deflected defenseman Philippe Boucher's knuckling slap shot from the right point past a screened Burke.

"It got tipped," Burke said. "I saw it, but it just got tipped."

Mike Ribeiro and Jeff Halpern also scored and rookie Mike Smith made 20 saves for Dallas (44-24-5), which pulled even with idle Minnesota (43-24-7) for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Ribeiro's goal, a power-play tally that drew the Stars even at 1-1 midway through the second period, was his third in two games after tallying just once in the previous 13 contests.

Smith rebounded nicely from a forgettable performance on Sunday, when he allowed three goals on 10 shots against Phoenix before being pulled.

"When Marty needs a break coming down the stretch here, hopefully I can give that support that he gives," Smith said. "Obviously, if I get a chance to go in the playoffs, then I'll be ready to go, too."

The Stars also remained one point behind the second-place San Jose Sharks (45-25-4) in the Pacific Division and climbed within five of idle Anaheim (43-18-12) for first.

Ladislav Nagy recorded a pair of assists for Dallas, which outscored Los Angeles, 30-16, in sweeping the eight-game season series.

Jamie Lundmark and Dustin Brown tallied for the Kings, who had earned at least one point in each of their previous seven contests (3-0-4).

Brown gave the Kings a short-lived 2-1 lead just 11 seconds into the third period, when he cut toward the net from a sharp angle and stuffed the puck between Smith's pads.

"I thought when we got the early goal in the third period, we were going to have a lot more in the third period," Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford said.

Los Angeles failed to score on its lone power-play opportunity. Dallas went 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

"We wore out a little bit with the number of power plays they got, and it ended up being the difference in the game," Crawford said.