Follow me on Twitter:
@Hockey_Comps
Follow HockeyBuzz Kings on Twitter:
@HB_LAKings
The Los Angeles Kings’ four-game winning streak came to an end last night, falling 4-3 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Kings nearly opened the scoring early in the first period, with Adrian Kempe getting a chance in-close, but just putting a shot off the crossbar. However, it was the Penguins who struck firs from there, as Sidney Crosby beat Pheonix Copley with a wraparound to put Pittsburgh ahead.
However, Los Angeles did end up managing to tie the game before the end of the frame while shorthanded, as Anze Kopitar won a race down ice against Erik Karlsson (who looked utterly lost on the play), before feeding a pass over to Carl Grundstrom, who beat Magnus Hellberg.
The Kings were then the far better team in the second frame, outshooting Pittsburgh by quite a margin, especially in the first half of the period. Midway through the frame, Adrian Kempe beat Hellberg with a great shot coming in on a rush, to give Los Angeles the lead.
However, despite the dominant period, Kevin Fiala committed a bad turnover up ice on a power play late in the frame, and Lars Eller was able to go the other way and beat Copley, tying the game at 2-2 before the end of the period.
Then in just the first minute of the third period, Sidney Crosby made a great backdoor pass to find Jake Guentzel, who redirected a shot past Copley to put Pittsburgh back ahead. The Kings pressed from there though, and about six minutes later, Kevin Fiala managed to make up for his earlier mistake by burying a rebound in front, tying the game once again.
Neither team could go up again from there in regulation, and the game continued to overtime.
In the extra frame, it initially looked like Bryan Rust had won it for the Penguins, only for it to be overturned for offside. However, only shortly after that, Pittsburgh came right back down ice and Rust scored once again, this time ending it on a wraparound for a Penguins win.
The Kings didn’t get the extra point, but I think this is one where it was pretty hard to fault the effort. Los Angeles outshot Pittsburgh 36-20, and sometimes, these things happen.
Pheonix Copley got his first start since being pulled against the Arizona Coyotes two weeks ago, and only did more to highlight Cam Talbot's importance so far. When Los Angeles is dominating the way they were, losing after giving up four goals on 20 shots is tough, and two wraparound goals – including an especially poor game winner – doesn’t establish much confidence in his abilities.
The goal at the end of the second period was also a tough one for the Kings to give up as a team. With all the momentum while holding a lead and on a power play, to give up a shorthanded goal and allow the Penguins back in the game was a bit of a turning point.
Also: for as excellent as the Kings have been on the road, they’re struggling a little at home. Los Angeles holds just a 1-2-3 home record this season.
Again though, looking at the positives, the Kings played a good game all-around, and still outplayed Pittsburgh through the majority of the matchup. It was a pretty solid team effort and more than anything, they just lost the goaltending battle.
Despite the loss ending the winning streak, the Kings’ point streak remains intact with the point that was earned, having now gone eight games without a regulation loss.
The Kings will be back in action tomorrow, as they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM NOVEMBER
- Kings dominate in 4-1 win over Leafs
- Kings get past Senators to stay undefeated on the road
- Kings keep rolling with 5-0 win over Flyers
- 4 players who are exceeding expectations with the Kings early on
- Kings stay perfect on the road, extend streak with win over Golden Knights 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»