Coming off a huge 2-1 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings enter a Thursday night bout against the Dallas Stars in search of back-to-back wins for the first time this season. 

Although the Stars went into Thursday's matchup losing three straight games, they're still widely considered one of the best teams in the NHL. It showed last night as Dallas was a handful for LA. However, the Kings managed to come out with two points after another tightly contested game that needed extra time.

First Period: Power Play Strikes Late

The first period lacked action throughout the first half of play, until the Kings gave the Stars the first man advantage of the game. With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, Kings forward Andrei Kuzmenko was sent to the penalty box for two minutes after being called for tripping. 

Darcy Kuemper and the Kings penalty kill stood their ground against a star-studded Dallas power play unit as they kill off Kuzmenko's minor penalty. After they killed off the penalty, the Kings gained some momentum, resulting in some offensive zone time which led to an eventual 5-on-3 opportunity. 

With just under three minutes remaining, Mikko Rantanen was sent to the box for two minutes for cross checking. After generating a few chances on the man advantage, the Kings drew another penalty as Ilya Lyubushkin was sent to the sin bin for high sticking Corey Perry behind the Dallas net. 

It took just 12 total seconds for the Kings to capitalize on the 5-on-3 chance. In his second game, Corey Perry scored his first goal as a Los Angeles King. Perry was in his office in front of Jake Oettinger's crease as he buried a rebound off a Kevin Fiala shot to give the Kings a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Despite being outshot 8-5 by the Dallas, LA ends the first period with a huge one goal lead.

Second Period: Stellar Goaltending Stands Out

Goaltending was the story of the second period. Darcy Kuemper was remarkable, making what seemed like countless incredible saves to keep the game competitive for the Kings, including an astonishing save on elite goal scorer Mikko Rantanen. 

The Kings were given an early power play opportunity after Tyler Seguin headed to the box after being called for high sticking. After scoring on their previous man advantage, LA failed to capitalize on their third power play of the game. Shortly after the Dallas penalty expired, the Kings would have to kill off a penalty of their own as Jeff Malot is called for hooking. 

Dallas wasted no time to tie the game on the power play. Just 30 seconds into the Malot penalty, Jason Robertson evened the game at 1-1 after beating Kuemper with a wrist shot from above the face-off circle.

Things didn't stayed deadlocked for long. Just under two minutes later, the Kings battled back and took a 2-1 lead from an unlikely source. That's right, known goal scorer Cody Ceci scored his first as a Los Angeles King against his former team. Ceci powered a slap shot by Oettinger to give the Kings the lead.

After killing off a Joel Armia high-sticking penalty just over halfway into the middle frame, the Kings took a huge 3-1 lead. Or so we thought. Alex Laferriere deflected a Mikey Anderson shot past Oettinger. However after further review, it was deemed no goal as Laferriere's stick was above the crossbar when the puck made impact with it. 

After an eventful second period, the Kings held a 2-1 lead thanks to their goaltender. Kuemper stood on his, stopping 13 of the Stars 14 second period shots.

Third Period: Lack of Discipline Proves Costly Yet Again

Not even one minute into the final frame, Joel Armia was sent to the box for his second hit-sticking penalty of the game. The Stars capitalized on the power play to even the game once again. Wyatt Johnston banged home a loose puck into a wide open net after Kuemper saved the initial Roope Hint shot from the slot. Johnston's team leading fifth goal of the season knots things up at 2-2.

After not much action for over 10 minutes, the Kings were headed to the penalty kill once again as Adrian Kempe is called for tripping with just over six minutes left in regulation. LA came up with an enormous penalty killed to keep the game tied at two apiece.

Both teams showed they were hungry for two points as play went back-and-forth with chances coming at both ends of the ice. To no avail however as the Kings head to overtime for the third consecutive game and fifth time overall this season.

Overtime: The Kempire Strikes Back

The Kings were not messing around in the extra frame as they earned the extra point just 37 seconds in. Adrian Kempe played the role of hero once again. The Kings sniper beat Oettinger with a beautiful one-time snapshot off a slick feed from Quinton Byfield as the two entered the Stars zone with speed. 

Kempe continues to prove that he is must see and worth every penny he is asking for.

The Los Angeles Kings (3-3-2) continue their road trip when they face the Predators (3-3-2) in Nashville on Saturday, October 25th at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET. 

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.