They're baaack.

Well, at least they look like they are.

In a funk since losing winger Jere Lehtinen to an injury in November, Stars leading scorers Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow have been searching for a replacement for a couple of weeks.

Antti Miettinen might be their answer.

In the four games that Miettinen has taken Lehtinen's place, the line has 10 goals, including a four-goal night Thursday in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

"That line gave us the offensive spark we needed," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "The whole line was feeding off of each other and was excellent in creating [scoring opportunities]."

The line has shown chemistry despite some hardship, as Miettinen has been bothered by a groin injury and has missed seven of the last 11 games. But when he has been healthy, the line has gone crazy. In the last two contests, Ribeiro has three goals and three assists, Miettinen has a goal and four assists, and Morrow has two goals and an assist.

Miettinen might be benefiting the most. He has three goals in his last four games to give him four on the season.

"Antti works hard, has a great shot and had a great night for us," Ribeiro said. "We passed the puck well and created a lot of chances."

Miettinen, who was pushed up to a top line last season and wasn't able to cash in on the opportunity, has been a magical passer on the line. He had two slick assists Monday in a 5-4 overtime win against Edmonton and he had another beauty Thursday.

Miettinen faked a slap shot from the slot in the first period, and then slid a pass to Ribeiro, who was standing on the doorstep. The move made for an embarrassingly-easy deflection goal and started Kings rookie Jonathan Quick (four goals on 18 shots) on a downward spiral that would eventually lead to him getting pulled.

AP

Dallas Stars forward Mike Modano (front) keeps the puck from the Kings' Brad Stuart.

Miettinen, who has been struggling with shot accuracy and flubbed a couple of key scoring opportunities early in the game, joked that many people might have thought he was just wide on his shot.

"I wasn't trying to shoot it," he said with a chuckle. "It was really a pass."

On his goal in the second period, Miettinen actually flubbed his shot but still bounced it past Quick.

"The guys on my line are working so hard," Miettinen said. "I think I'm getting in the flow and getting more opportunities to play and feeling more comfortable."

Ribeiro tied a career high with four points (he has done it twice, most recently in 2004 against Pittsburgh) and regained the team scoring lead from Morrow and Sergei Zubov. Ribeiro now has 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 29 games. His career highs are 20 goals and 45 assist in 81 games with Montreal in 2003-04.

Morrow (11 goals, 19 assists, 30 points) is also on pace for a career-best season, while Zubov had two assists and pushed his point total to 30 – tops among NHL defensemen.

The power play was deadly efficient, scoring on two of two chances and taking just 25 seconds to get both goals. Turco, meanwhile, stopped 26 of 27 shots for his 11th win of the season.

The Kings were coming off a tough game in Chicago on Wednesday and struggled, but the Stars also looked like a different team after getting some days off.

"It's a factor," Tippett said. "It wasn't just one day to get rested, we had a couple of days and that has been very good to us."