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Penguins Game 49, Desperation Time; Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs. Kings

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Pittsburgh Penguins Game vs. LA Kings

LOS ANGELES — Two games under hockey .500 and leading only two teams in the Eastern Conference standings, the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-21-8) are entering the desperation phase early. The team has just three wins since Dec. 28, and they’ve been passed in the standings like they’re doing 55 mph with their turn signal on. The team will get a little vitamin D in sunny but cold southern California today as they visit the LA Kings (25-13-5) at Crypto.com Arena.



The puck drops just after 10:30 p.m. EST. It’s the third of the team’s seven-game road trip.

You may need a little coffee today for this one, but it is an important game. The Penguins are just 2-5-3 in their last 10 games and are 13th among 16 teams in the East.

Bryan Rust scored the only Penguins goal in a humbling loss to the Washington Capitals Saturday at Capital One Arena. The Penguins lost 4-1. Goalie Joel Blomqvist made his first start since being recalled in the wake of the organization waiving Tristan Jarry last week. Blomqvist was solid, stopping 28 of 31 shots.

The Penguins trailed 2-1 until Washington scored a power-play goal with 2:10 remaining and extended their points streak to 10 games.

LA has maintained their impeccable defensive responsibility, yet a .640 winning percentage is good enough for only third place in the powerhouse Pacific Division. Goalies David Rittich and Darcy Kuemper have shared the net duties, though Kuemper has a healthy .922 save percentage.

Adrian Kempe and the 36-year-old Anze Kopitar lead LA with 42 points. Kempe also has 22 goals in the process.

The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Penguins forward Blake Lizotte, who spent the first six years of his career in LA. He played 320 regular-season games with 106 points (37-69-106). LA declined to qualify him last June when he was a restricted free agent, making him a UFA. The Penguins signed Lizotte to a two-year deal worth $3.7 million.

Read More: Penguins Add Ball of Energy Lizotte From Kings

Coach Mike Sullivan will announce the starting goaltender at the morning skate. Both Alex Nedeljkovic and Blomqvist acquitted themselves well over the weekend. Nedeljkovic scored a goal and made 40 saves in the Penguins’ win over the Buffalo Sabres Friday.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Beauvillier

Drew O’Connor-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino

Blake Lizotte-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari

Defense

Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang?

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves-P.O Joseph

Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic/Joel Blomqvist

Kings Lines

Alex Turcotte-Anze-Kopitar-Adrian Kempe

Warren Foegele-Quinton Byfield-Tanner Jeannot

Kevin Fiala-Philip Danault-Trevor Moore

Trevor Lewis-Samuel Helenius

Defense

Mikey Anderson-Vladislav Gavrikov

Joel Edmundson-Brandt Clarke

Jordan Moverare-Joel Spence

Kyle Burroughs

Goalies: Darcy Kuemper/David Rittich

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 26.6%, 5th. Penguins penalty kill: 79.1%, 14th.

Kings Power Play: 16.0%, 29th. Kings Penalty Kill: 83.2%, 5th.

Penguins Game Notes

The Kings have points in each of their last five games against Pittsburgh at Crypto.com Arena (4-0-1), dating back to Jan. 12, 2019, and have outscored the Penguins 22-9 in that span.

Kempe has eight goals in his last four games against the Penguins. He’s the first player to score that many in four games since Tony Granato in 1988-89.

The Kings (1.94) are the only team with a goals-against per game (GA/GP) at home under 2.00 in the league

The Penguins are 5-2-0 in its last seven games against Western Conference opponents.

Bryan Rust has seven goals, five assists, and 12 points in 13 career games against the Kings, including six goals and nine points (6-3-9) in his last eight games.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 105.9 The X