In Los Angeles on Saturday, the Kings surprised everyone in the Staples Center when they skated off with a 5-2 win over the resurgent Pittsburgh Penguins.
Anze Kopitar picked up two goals and Jeff Carter scored his ninth of the season.
Alex Iafallo had a goal in LA win over Pens on Saturday – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman
“Last game (loss to Ottawa Senators) was embarrassing and the effort wasn’t there, so coming in tonight we wanted to throw in the effort, obviously, and the desperation level needed to win the game, and we did a good job,” Kopitar said.
Jonathan Quick made 38 saves to get the win.
“Well, obviously, to get here means I’ve been lucky enough to play with some good players and on some really good hockey teams,” Quick said. “Yeah, it means a lot. It’s special.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about winning hockey games and we were able to get one tonight, and we move forward.”
Jake Guentzel scored both Pens goals in the loss.
“I don’t think we had our best game, but I did think we competed,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think we beat ourselves in the second period, and that’s unfortunate.”
Brendan Leipsic and Alex Iafallo also scored for LA who improved to 18-25-3.
“Being back there for us, it’s very comforting because he *Quick( always gives us a chance and that’s what you want from your goaltender. To see him get up there in his individual columns, if you will, it’s not surprising. He’s obviously a great goaltender and I’m sure he’s going to keep on climbing,” Kopitar said.
[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Kings highlights]
Casey DeSmith made 20 saves in the loss.
The Pittsburgh special teams units let them down again, =yielding the 10th shirthanded goal on the season.
“I just think a lot of it is not what penalty kills are doing to us, it’s what we are doing to ourselves,” Sullivan said. “It’s just carelessness. It’s a lack of diligence in important parts of the rink. Even though we’re on the power play, we have to have some conscience defensively, and it starts with our own puck possession.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.