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Kings edge Stars

Apr 1, 2013 - 2:38 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Brad Richardson picked a good time to tally his first goal of the season, while Justin Williams added the difference-maker shortly afterward in the third period as the Los Angeles Kings downed the Dallas Stars, 3-2, on Sunday.

Richardson, who was appearing in just his third contest of the season, returned to the lineup to help his team break a 1-1 tie.

Jeff Carter scored his 20th goal of the season and Williams provided a tally that made it a 3-1 contest for the Kings, who bounced back from a shootout loss at Minnesota on Saturday and have now won three of their last four.

Los Angeles netminder Jonathan Bernier made 13 saves as his team held a commanding 40-15 shot advantage in the victory.

"It was a big win, we were trying to get some separation from some other teams," Richardson said. "It's been a trying year to say the least, but you know, stick with it and when you get your chance you got to try and do your best."

Jamie Benn scored a goal and Ray Whitney supplied a power-play tally for the Stars, who have dropped two of three overall and nine of their last 11 matchups in Dallas against the Kings. Kari Lehtonen stopped 37-of-40 shots faced in defeat.

Richardson, who had been a healthy scratch for the majority of the season, scored his first goal of the year to give the Kings a 2-1 edge 5:40 into the third period. Kyle Clifford helped create a turnover in the Dallas zone before poking away a pass right to Richardson, who put a wrister past the netminder for the go-ahead tally.

Just over a minute later, Williams made it a 3-1 contest. Los Angeles had numbers on the offensive, and Dustin Brown centered a perfect pass which Williams punched in on a second shot after Lehtonen made the first save.

Dallas, though, wasn't done and capitalized on a Mike Richards hooking penalty at the 9:18 mark of the third. As the power play came to a close, Whitney got the puck at the top of the right wing and one-timed a blast through a screen past Bernier to make it a 3-2 game at 11:04.

The Stars could not come up with the equalizer over the final eight-plus minutes, however.

"It was like teams from two different leagues tonight, and they were back-to- back, so thank the Lord that they weren't fresh," Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We're fighting for our lives here. After an embarrassing outing in front of our home fans like that, we better come out hard tomorrow."

The Kings struck just 25 seconds into the contest, as Carter sent a harmless backhander from the corner to the net, but the puck deflected off a Dallas defenseman and snuck in for a quick 1-0 lead.

Los Angeles continued to control the tempo of the game for the rest of the first period and most of the second, but Dallas fittingly got on the board on its first shot of the middle period.

The Kings tried to clear the puck and get a quick line change, but Dallas' Alex Goligoski got the disc in his own end and found a wide-open Benn across the end of the ice. He then deked Bernier for an easy backhander to tie the game at 1-1 with 6:44 left in the period.

Game Notes

Dallas still holds a 2-1 edge in the series this season, winning both contests in Los Angeles ... The Kings, though, are 11-1-2 in their last 14 games in Dallas ... The Stars only managed four shots apiece through the first two periods as Los Angeles built a 31-8 advantage in that category.