Los Angeles 5, Pittsburgh 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 12, 2019
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees:
T.J. Luxmore, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen:
Devin Berg, Jesse Marquis
Attendance:
18414
By Field Level Media
Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists, and Anze Kopitar added a pair of goals as the Los Angeles Kings scored in each period to earn a 5-2 home victory over the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alex Iafallo and Brendan Leipsic added goals as the Kings won for the second time in six January games.
Jake Guentzel had two goals for the Penguins, who entered with a victory in 10 of their last 11 games and were coming off a rally from a three-goal deficit Friday at Anaheim against the Ducks. Guentzel had a hat trick in Pittsburgh's victory Friday.
Rallying from a three-goal deficit for a second consecutive night proved too difficult for the Penguins, who were coming off a season-high seven goal game. Pittsburgh did outshoot the Kings 21-5 in the final period.
The Kings took a 4-1 lead 49 seconds into the third period when Leipsic took a no-look redirection from Ilya Kovalchuk and scored into a wide-open goal past Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith. The goal was Leipsic's fourth of the season.
Guentzel's productive trip to Southern California continued 5:30 into Saturday's game, when he delivered a short-handed goal for a 1-0 Penguins lead. The left wing took off on a two-on-one with Sidney Crosby and cleaned up a loose puck in front of Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick for the score.
Carter tied the score 1-1 with an unassisted goal, his ninth, just over five minutes later when he forced a turnover at the Kings blue line and worked his way outside the right circle in the Penguins zone before beating DeSmith with a slapshot.
Iafallo scored his 10th of the season at 8:47 of the second period for a 2-1 Kings lead, and Kopitar added a short-handed goal at 16:05 of the second period to increase the advantage to 3-1. Iafallo's goal was his first since Dec. 23.
After Leipsic made it 4-1, Guentzel cut the Los Angeles advantage in half after taking a feed from Phil Kessel from behind the Kings goal and scoring into a wide-open net. Guentzel's goal was his 23rd of the season.
Kopitar added the final goal unassisted in the closing minute when he delivered into a empty net, his 13th.
Quick had 38 saves for the Kings in the win. DeSmith stopped 20 of 24 shots faced.
The Penguins are now 1-1 on their five-game West Coast road trip that will take them into the All-Star break.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Los Angeles |
|
Jake Guentzel 2 |
Points |
Jeff Carter 3 |
|
Jake Guentzel 2 |
Goals |
Anze Kopitar 2 |
|
Sidney Crosby 1 |
Assists |
Jeff Carter 2 |
|
Jake Guentzel 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
Jake Guentzel 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
Anze Kopitar 1 |
|
Casey DeSmith .833 |
Save Percentage |
Jonathan Quick .950 |
|
Casey DeSmith 20 |
Saves |
Jonathan Quick 38 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Pittsburgh
|
40 |
2 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
11 |
22 |
| Los Angeles
|
25 |
5 |
0-3 |
3-4 |
13 |
29 |
Upcoming Games
-
Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Kings have a W/L % of .294 after a win and .448 after a loss.
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Penguins have a W/L % of .560 after a win and .550 after a loss.
For more information, contact us