In Los Angeles, Calvin Petersen made 35 saves for the Kings in a tight, well-played 2-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
The Pens have lost four straight.
“We know that points are important, and we want to be playing well this time of year,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “Obviously you don’t want to drop four in a row, but it’s the reality we face. I feel like we probably deserved a little better the last few games, but you don’t get points for that. We’ve got to find ways to win games.”
Blake Lizotte opened the scoring to stake the Kings to a 1-0 lead.,
“Anytime you get a chance to play one of the better teams, it’s fun to put your best foot forward and kind of use it as a measuring stick. I thought we played well tonight as a team,” Lizotte said.
Trevor Lewis extended the lead to 2-0 with a strike in the middle frame.
“I just think the whole game, we kind of suffocated them,” Petersen said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win and kind of played our brand of hockey.”
Bryan Rust scored in the third period to make the game a little more tense.
“Those guys were great. I think you can see what makes them successful players in the League,” Rust said.. “Obviously a lot of us are familiar with Conor and even playing against [Marleau] in the playoffs, I think we know how good he’s been for so long. Rodrigues came in, [and] you could see how hard he works and his wheels and just the team game.”
[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Kings highlights]
Tristan Jarry made 20 saves in the loss.
“For me, the difference in the game is the special teams department,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “If special teams gets it done on either side, it gives us a chance. But I thought we had a lot of good looks.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.