The LA Kings dropped their third straight game, their second of the season on home ice, by a 4-2 final score against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday evening at Crypto.com Arena.
Inside the game’s first five minutes, the Kings opened the scoring through forward Warren Foegele. Foegele started the play with an effective forecheck, winning the puck below the goal line and feeding defenseman Cody Ceci at the right point. Ceci fed forward Trevor Moore in the slot, who one-touched the puck to Foegele for the shot, which he buried for his first goal of the season and an early 1-0 advantage.
The Kings doubled their lead just shy of five minutes later with a tic-tac-toe goal off the rush. After forward Joel Armia broke up the play in his defensive zone, he led the rush the other way down the left wing. Armia used a crafty stickhandle to create space, before he fed forward Quinton Byfield with a pass through the slot. Byfield then worked it to forward Kevin Fiala at the back post for a tap-in goal, his third of the season, and the two-goal lead.
Skating on the game’s first power play, Pittsburgh pulled a goal back 6:37 into the second period to get on the board. Forward Evgeni Malkin took a feed from forward Bryan Rust and worked his way around the perimeter. Malkin eventually moved into the left-hand circle and fired a low shot, through the fivehole of Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg and in to bring the visitors within 2-1.
Just 41 seconds later, the Penguins tied the game at two. Forward Connor Dewar applied pressure on what looked to be a relatively harmless situation, but he won the puck on the forecheck and used a quick shot to beat Forsberg again through the fivehole for his first goal of the season, sending the game into the second intermission tied at two goals apiece.
Pittsburgh made it three unanswered goals to take its first lead of the game with a shorthanded tally. Going 2-on-1 the other way against the second Kings power-play unit, Rickard Rakell fired a shot off the bar and out, but the rebound kicked around and forward Filip Hallander finished at the near post for his first career NHL goal as the Penguins pulled ahead 3-2.
Forward Sidney Crosby hit the empty net inside the final minute of regulation to cap off a 4-2 Pittsburgh victory.
Hear from Moore, forward Phillip Danault and Head Coach Jim Hiller following tonight’s game 👇
