Connect with us

Penguins

Penguins Find Their Desperation; Crosby & Depth Squash Kings

Published

on

Pittsburgh Penguins Game 5-1 Win LA Kings

LOS ANGELES — The Pittsburgh Penguins (20-21-8) were firmly in control until a pair of late second-period penalties. The LA Kings (30-11-5)  converted on a two-man advantage to close within 3-1 and seize palpable momentum.



And that’s when the Penguins countered in the final minute of the second period. Kevin Hayes earned his second point by fighting through defenders to slide a pass to Cody Glass (3) in front of the net at 19:01 for a 4-1 lead. For once, it was the Penguins scoring a big goal in the final minute of a period, and they kept going for a 5-1 win at Crypto.com Arena.

The Penguins thoroughly dominated the first period, and their 12 shots on goal undersold their true puck possession. The Penguins tried to cut to the middle of the ice and looked for shooting lanes. The Penguins attempted 26 shots compared to LA’s 12, of which only six got on net.

However, LA did have a pair of golden scoring chances, including Quinton Byfield’s breakaway. Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who has won two of his last three starts by making 40 saves, neatly turned aside the 2020 second-overall pick.

The Penguins scored twice. The first goal was an excuse-me power play goal by Kevin Hayes. After defenseman Erik Karlsson stormed the LA zone and established zone possession, Hayes (8) found space and skated to the net, shielding the puck on his backhand. As he got to the net, the puck was knocked off his stick, but it fluttered into the net at 10:09.

The scorers later removed all assists (a bit of a pedantic call), and it was an unassisted goal.

Four minutes later, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (13) flashed his incredible hand-eye coordination when he deflected Matt Grzelcyk’s already knuckling puck for a 2-0 lead at 14:09.

The Penguins’ attack continued in the second period. They were not awarded a goal early in the second period after Rittich knocked the net off the moorings, then sometime later, the Penguins deflected a puck across the goal line. The referees chatted about it, but the play resulted only in a stoppage whistle.

Midway through the period, after the Penguins created multiple turnovers as LA tried to leave the defensive zone, Philip Tomasino made a spinning backhand pass across the slot to Evgeni Malkin (9), who swept the puck past Rittich for a 3-0 lead at 8:26.

Nedeljkovic continued his solid play since the Penguins exiled Tristan Jarry via waivers to the AHL. Nedeljkovic stopped 14 of the first 15 shots he faced, including a few key saves, including a blocker stop on Warren Foegele shortly after LA notched their power-play goal in the second period.

The Penguins continued to outplay LA in the third period. Sidney Crosby set up Kris Letang for a one-timer, but Rittich made the first save. However, Rittich lost the puck, and Anthony Beauvillier knocked it into the net at 6:57 of the third for a 5-1 lead.

Nedeljkovic had a comparatively light workload compared to recent games. Until Tuesday, Nedeljkovic had faced fewer than 31 shots only twice in his last eight starts. Nedeljkovic stopped 25 of 26 shots. His record improved to 9-7-4.

Like the Penguins goalies, Rittich has a save percentage below .890. His record dropped to 11-10-0.

Crosby, Beauvillier, and Hayes had one goal and one assist each. LA didn’t pull the goalie to allow Nedeljkovic to extend his career-long goal streak to two.

Penguins Notes

The game was LA’s first home game since deadly fires swept across the city two weeks ago. The team honored the many first responders in attendance. In the warmup, the Penguins wore LAFD hats instead of helmets.

LA Kings Honor First Responders

LA Kings Honor First Responders: Photo by Dan Kingerski

Adrian Kempe had eight points, including four goals, in his last four games against the Penguins. Monday was his fifth goal in five games against the Penguins.

The game was the third on the Penguins’ seven-game road trip. They will play Anaheim Thursday.

Beauvillier led all players with six shots on goal. He had seven in the first game of the season (vs. NYR) on Oct. 9 and six shots against the New York Islanders