Kings after two: Two quick strikes and it's Kings 3, Dallas 1

The second period was fairly sleepy until the Kings scored twice in a nine-second span to build a 3-1 lead.

For about half the period the Kings had only one shot, but they made the most of their chances as the period wore on—and Jonathan Quick remained sharp in their net.

Alexei Ponikarovsky put the Kings ahead at 13:05 thanks to some fine work from Wayne Simmonds. A right-handed shooter, Simmonds skated up his off-wing, used his strength to get to the net and threw the puck on net on his backhand. Kari Lehtonen made the save but Ponikarovsky was in position to backhand the rebound home for his second goal this season. Jack Johnson also got an assist.

The Kings won the ensuing faceoff and Simmonds again made a smart play to go to the net. He crashed into the post very close to the time the puck crossed the goal line, and the on-ice officials waved it off. However, the play was reviewed and the goal was awarded to Simmonds, with assists to Johnson and Rob Scuderi.

Quick was exceptional in stopping 14 shots, including a 20-foot wrist shot by Mike Ribeiro at 6:48 and a dangerous backhand by Jamie Benn on the doorstep at 15:56.

Through two periods, Dallas had a 20-12 edge in shots but the Kings were ahead on the scoreboard.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

Helene Elliott in Dallas