Cali Sweep? Penguins Game 12 vs. Kings: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-0) will be going for a sweep of their three-game road trip through California when they meet the Los Angeles Kings (8-2-2) Thursday.

The Penguins also can reach .500 for the first time since they were 2-2-0.

After wins at San Jose and Anaheim, the Penguins have a 12-2 goal margin on their trip.

The Kings are coming off a 4-1 win on the road Wednesday against a strong Vegas Golden Knights team.

Penguins Game Time

The game starts a little after 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Also known as a Night Owl Special.

Penguins Preview

A three-game winning streak on the road could be a big boost to the Penguins and would be their longest winning streak of the season. They are still looking for consistency.

They might be facing the Kings without No. 1 goaltender Tristan Jarry, who left Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the Ducks in Anaheim because of a hit to the head and puck to the face on the same play. Jarry was still being evaluated at the last known update, and he did not practice Wednesday.

If Jarry is out, Magnus Hellberg, who came in and finished up the combined shutout Wednesday, will start, and the Penguins will recall a goalie to serve as the backup against Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles has been better on the road (7-0-0, the eighth team in NHL history to win their first seven road games) and are 1-2-2 at home.

The Kings will be playing on the second night of back-t0-back games, meaning it’s expected that backup goalie Phoenix Copley will start after Cam Talbot played Wednesday. Copley has had a rough start to the season. He is 1-0-1 in three games with a 4.98 goals-against average and a .788 save percentage.

Anze Kopitar’s empty-netter against Vegas made him the fourth player in franchise history to reach 400 goals.

Los Angeles has scored at least three goals in seven straight games.

Expected Penguins Lines

Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Reilly Smith-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell

Drew O’Connor-Lars Eller-Radim Zohorna

Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Vinnie Hinostroza

Defense

Ryan Graves-Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea-Chad Ruhwedel

Goalies

Magnus Hellberg

(Tristan Jarry questionable)

Expected Los Angeles Kings lines

Quinton Byfield-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore-Phillip Danault-Arthur Kaliyev

Kevin Fiala/Pierre-Luc Dubois-Alex Laferriere

Carl Grundstrom-Blake Lizotte-Trevor Lewis

Defense

Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov-Matt Roy

Andreas Englund-Jordan Spence

Goalies

Phoenix Copley

Cam Talbot

Penguins Special Teams

Penguins power play: 18.2%, 19th

Penguins penalty kill: 81.1%, 12th

Kings power play: 20.8%, 14th

Kings penalty kill: 85.4%, 9th

Penguins Game Notes

A win Thursday would give the Penguins their first three-game road winning streak since Feb. 25-March 2 last season.

The Penguins are 10-7-3 in their past 20 games against the Kings, dating to Feb. 10, 2011.

Sidney Crosby ranks first in the NHL with 152 faceoff wins, and the Penguins are first in team rankings with a 56.4% faceoff proficiency. Crosby also has a six-game point streak (3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points).

Evgeni Malkin has four career game-winning goals against Los Angeles, most among all active Eastern Conference players. Malkin also ranks second in the league with 14 takeaways.

With 698 points (157 goals, 541 assists), Kris Letang is two shy of becoming the third active defenseman, 28th all-time, to reach 700 points. He would also be the 10th defenseman to collect 700 points with one franchise.

How to Watch the Game

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 105.9 The X