LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The way goalie Martin Jones began his NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings, the last thing anyone on either bench expected was for him to give up goals on the first two shots the Dallas Stars took. But Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn scored 1 minute, 20 seconds apart — before the Staples Center seats were even filled — and rookie linemate Valeri Nichushkin got the go-ahead goal on a power play in the second period to propel the Stars to a 5-2 victory over the Kings on Monday night. "Those guys have played extremely well, and we came in here as weak underdogs. But we got off to a great start," goaltender Kari Lehtonen said. "We talked about how well (Jones) has played. But I tried to turn it around the other way, like: He has to lose one day — and hopefully it would be tonight. But hes a real good goalie and fun to watch." Cody Eakin scored an insurance goal with 4:48 remaining against Jones, who stopped 19 shots in his first NHL loss. Shawn Horcoff was awarded an empty-net goal after he was tripped from behind by Drew Doughty in the Kings zone. Lehtonen made 30 saves to record his league-leading 12th road victory, sending the Kings to their second loss in 11 games and just their third in regulation over the last 23. "Were trying to gain points in our conference, and the only way were going to do it is by beating good teams," coach Lindy Ruff said. "Our young defencemen responded well to the challenge." Dallas top line of Benn, Seguin and Nichushkin has accounted for 15 goals and 29 points in its last nine games. This was the second time this season that each of them scored in the same game. It also occurred on Dec. 14 in a 6-4 victory at Winnipeg. "They had a little bit of a rough time in San Jose, and probably were out worst line in the game up there. But they responded by coming back tonight and being the reason we won — which was good to see," Ruff said. "Tylers got elite speed, Jamies got elite puck-handling skills and a shot, and so does Tyler. And the 18-year-old (Nichushkin) is young to be something special," he added. "They bring a lot of good things like size and speed, and thats tough to handle." Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll scored first-period goals for Los Angeles. The Kings played without captain Dustin Brown, who missed his first game of the season due to an illness. Jones, who tied Bob Froeses 31-year-old NHL record on Saturday by winning for the eighth time in his first eight NHL games, was going after Ray Emerys mark of nine straight winning decisions from the start of a career. But the game began inauspiciously for the Kings 23-year-old goalie, as Seguin beat him high to the stick side from the low slot for the tying goal after getting a cross-ice pass from Benn. Less than 2 1-2 minutes later, Benn put Dallas ahead when he carried the puck into the Kings zone and beat Jones to the short side with a backhander over his left shoulder from deep in the right circle. Seguins 19th goal and Benns 11th ended a streak of 11 straight home games in which the Kings had shut out their opponents in the first period. "I just thought about stopping the next one, which is all you can do because whats done is done," said Jones, who had allowed only eight goals on 234 shots in his other eight games. "Theyve got some good offensive guys and they did a good job, but I didnt think we got big saves when we needed it. When you spot a team like that two goals early, its pretty tough to win." Los Angeles held Dallas to just two more shots on net before Stoll tied it at 16:48 of the period with his fifth goal. Referee Mike Leggo had his arm raised to call a delayed penalty for hooking against Alex Goligoski, when Williams pass caromed off the skate of Dallas Antoine Roussel and Stoll whipped a 30-foot slap shot between Lehtonens pads. But Nichushkin put Dallas ahead to stay at 5:07 of the second with his seventh goal, beating Jones to the glove side with a one-timer from the right circle after getting a cross-ice feed from Seguin. It came while Stoll was serving an interference penalty. The Stars were just 5 for 50 on the power play in their previous 14 games. Dallas defenceman Sergei Gonchar was scratched for the first time this season because of concussion-like symptoms, after getting injured in Saturdays 3-2 shootout loss at San Jose. NOTES: Jones, who has been filling in for the injured Jonathan Quick, came within one victory of tying Quicks franchise record for consecutive wins. ... Despite the loss, the Kings are 9-2-0 this month. Their previous high for wins in December was eight, accomplished seven times. ... The Stars get a three-day Christmas break before facing Nashville on Friday in the opener of a five-game homestand, which includes a rematch with the Kings on New Years Eve. ... Seguin has 13 goals and 21 points in his last 18 games. Brooklyn Nets Gear . Basketball fans around the globe will be watching as Kobe Bryant makes his season debut - 240 days after tearing his left Achilles - against Toronto, a team he has used as his own personal punching bag. Cheap Nets Jerseys . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/. I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Fake Nets Jerseys . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Brooklyn Nets Store . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout.Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off their first-ever ACC loss, the now sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals will attempt to right the ship, as they play host to the Virginia Tech Hokies in a conference clash at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday evening. Rick Pitinos Cardinals have just two losses all season. The first came against top-ranked Kentucky (58-50) and the second on Saturday at 18th-ranked North Carolina (72-71). The loss to the Tar Heels was the first in conference play for Louisville and ended a three-game win streak. Buzz Williams first season in Blacksburg hasnt exactly gone according to plan. The Hokies are hovering just over .500 at 8-7, but the team is still looking for its first ACC victory, entering this contest with a three-game losing streak in tow. The team was last in action on Jan. 6, an 86-75 road loss at Florida State, leaving the team 0-2 in conference play. Louisville has dominated this series overall with a 28-8 edge in games played since the series began in 1978. The Cardinals have won nine straight meetings. The Hokies shot a solid .519 from the floor in the first half against Florida State, but it was the Seminoles that were red-hot, going .731 from the floor, including a ridiculous 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the first stanza. Despite both teams cooling off considerably after the break, Tech was unable to overcome and earn a win. The loss spoiled terrific performances by guards Justin Bibbs and Adam Smith, who combined for 49 points. Bibbs topped all scorers with 25, followed closely by Smiths 24. Virginia Tech is by no means an offensive juggernaut, averaging 69.4 ppg this year, but the team haas been efficient at that end of the floor, converting almost 48 percent of the time (.dddddddddddd478). Bibbs leads the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg, but has really taken over in conference play, netting 23.5 ppg through two outings. Smith is the only other Hokie currently averaging double digits in the scoring column at 12.7 ppg. Joey van Zegeren is just under the mark however, with 9.8 ppg. Louisville let one slip away in Chapel Hill over the weekend, as the Cardinals allowed a 13-point lead with under nine minutes to play evaporate, culminating in a one-point loss to the Tar Heels. The team was led once again by guard Terry Rozier, who finished with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the loss. Fellow guard Chris Jones poured in 19 points, while forward Wayne Blackshear finished with 10 points. All-America candidate Montrezl Harrell struggled however, as the big man tallied just nine points and five rebounds in 38 minutes of work. The Cardinals lack of defensive grit down the stretch against UNC has not been the norm this season. In fact, Louisville remains one of the top defensive units in the country, yielding just 56.5 ppg on a mere .364 shooting. Rozier has emerged as one of the ACCs top scorers this season, coming into this matchup averaging 17.5 ppg. Harrell has struggled a little of late, but is still shooting .584 from the field and averaging 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Jones and Blackshear provide offensive options with their 13.2 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. However, there is almost no scoring depth behind the four starters, as the fifth-best scoring option on the team nets a mere 4.1 ppg. ' ' '