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Both winless in four, Kings and Stars meet tonight in Dallas

Los Angeles Kings v Dallas Stars

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 31: Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings skates the puck against Valeri Nichushkin #43 of the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on December 31, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

The Los Angeles Kings may be winless in their last four, but that doesn’t mean they’ve played poorly, according to their coach, Darryl Sutter.

“We probably played better in some of these games than we did in the miraculous home-stand everyone talked about,” Sutter said, per Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times.

The Kings won six straight at home earlier in the season, though like Sutter suggested, they didn’t play particularly well in all those victories. If not for goalie Jonathan Quick (against St. Louis on Oct. 16 and Minnesota on Oct. 19, in particular), the Stanley Cup champs probably wouldn’t have finished that home-stand undefeated.

But Quick hasn’t been so unbeatable in recent outings, and despite racking up 138 total shots, the Kings’ offense has managed just six goals during its four-game winless streak. (The Chicago Blackhawks feel their pain.)

The Kings are in Dallas tonight to face another team on a four-game winless streak. Unlike Sutter, though, Stars coach Lindy Ruff can’t say he’s happy with how his team has been performing.

“There is energy missing in our game. It is as simple as that,” said Ruff. “We are getting beat to pucks. We are not winning enough of the small battles. It is as simple as that. The energy level of our team isn’t good enough to win games.”