Anze Kopitar scored two goals, as the Los
Angeles Kings tallied four times in the third period to post a 5-2 win over
the Penguins, sending Pittsburgh to its first loss in eight road games this
season.
Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll both registered a goal and an assist for the
Kings, who are 6-0-2 in their last eight games. Michal Handzus also lit the
lamp and Justin Williams collected two assists, while Jonathan Quick made 21
saves in the win.
"Obviously you don't want to play the body too often, but it is definitely
good to know that we can come out and play that way," said Brown. "They are
the defending Stanley Cup champions and 7-0 on the road, so I think it was
more about what we did than what they didn't do. We got a lot of speed going
through the middle, which I think is tough to play against."
Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz scored for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury
stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced in defeat.
"I think we would have liked to have been a little better. We didn't play
great and sometimes you get away with that. It's a good lesson for us," said
Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby. "We have gotten away with bad periods in the
past but tonight we didn't. We didn't capitalize on our chances and we didn't
play well in the third and in a tight game like that you can't afford for that
to happen."
Kopitar scored on a wraparound to tie the game at two at 6:17 of the third,
then Stoll and Handzus scored 23 seconds apart to blow the game open.
"We were doing some really good stuff in the second period and we outshot them
by a lot," said Kopitar. "That just shows our character; sticking with it and
not giving up. That is what the team is made of. We just kept pouring it on
and putting shots on net. Sooner or later, we knew [Fleury] would fold, and we
managed to score four goals."
Stoll skated down the slot, gathered a pass from Brown and fired a shot that
eluded Fleury on the blocker side. Handzus made it 4-2 at 12:32.
Brown's tally during a delayed penalty cemented the victory with 2:30 to play.
It was a chaotic start to the game, with each club scoring on its first shot.
Kopitar pulled the puck to the backhand and deposited it home 27 seconds into
the contest, but Staal quickly countered for the Penguins, drilling a Chris
Conner drop pass from just inside the blue line past Quick at 1:10 of the
opening period.
Pittsburgh moved ahead when Kunitz positioned himself in front of the Los
Angeles netminder and redirected Brooks Orpik's rising shot with 9:09
remaining in the middle stanza.
Game Notes
Kopitar leads the league with 26 points and ranks second in goals
(13). It took him 50 games to reach 13 goals last season...Pittsburgh had won
three straight against the Kings...Los Angeles hosts the Predators on
Saturday...The Penguins continue their four-game road trip Saturday in San
Jose...This is the first time since November 2-18, 2000 the Kings have had at
least a point in eight straight games...LA has killed 24 of 27 penalties in
the last eight games...This is the best 16-game Kings start (10-4-2) since
1992-93 (also 10-4-2).
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