Sully Says: "It Just Got Away From Us As The Game Went On"
By
Michelle Crechiolo
Penguins Team Reporter
Adrian Kempe scored a second-period natural hat trick during a big night for the Kings, as the franchise retired two-time Stanley Cup Champion Dustin Brown's No. 23 jersey and unveiled a statue of the forward outside of the rink.
Kempe got a fourth goal in the third period, a few minutes after Sidney Crosby had been given a game misconduct. It started when Mikey Anderson crosschecked the Penguins captain in front of the net.
As the Kings forward skated to the box, "I could tell he was saying something," Crosby said. "I don't know what he was saying, we were pretty far from each other. So I got closer, and that happens pretty often. A lot of scrums, that happens."
The two of them had an exchange, and Crosby said the next thing he knew, referee Garrett Rank had given him a 10-minute misconduct. That ended up turning into a game misconduct as Crosby looked for an explanation.
"I honestly was shocked I was getting kicked out of the game. I had no idea," Crosby said.
It was a tough finish to a night that had a decent start for the Penguins, despite being down 2-0 on the scoreboard following the opening frame. Casey DeSmith, who made his second start in as many nights, was pulled early in the middle frame after giving up three goals on 15 shots.
Dustin Tokarski made 13 saves on 16 shots in relief, as No. 1 netminder Tristan Jarry remains out due to injury. He last played on Jan. 24 in New Jersey, and has missed 12 of the last 14 games. Pheonix Copley got the shutout in net for the Kings.
The Penguins have a day off on Sunday before returning to the ice for practice on Monday in Los Angeles. They will then fly to San Jose to face the Sharks on Tuesday to wrap up their California road trip.
Here's what head coach Mike Sullivan had to say after tonight's loss.
On where the game got away from them after what was actually a decent start:"Yeah, I thought we had a real good first. I thought we came out with a lot of energy. We were trying to play quick. I thought we made good decisions, for the most part. We came out on the wrong side of the score, but I thought the first period was a good period for us. They got that third goal early in the second, and it was just tough to overcome that."
On if there were a lot of those same intangibles that he liked going through Anaheim, and before that, against Colorado: "In the first, yeah. I thought we brought the right mindset. I thought we brought the right energy. The intentions were there. We had some really good looks early in that period. We could have got a lead right away. I thought their goalie made some big saves for him. And you know, that's hockey.
On inconsistency from one game to the next:"I don't think that was the case. You know, we got on the wrong side of the score tonight. It got away from us. But like I said, I thought the start of the game, the first period, I thought we played really well. It just got away from us as the game went on, and that's on all of us. We got to do a better job just bringing a little bit more resilience."
On if he got an explanation for why Crosby was tossed:"No, I don't think Garrett had any interest in giving us an explanation."
