When the Anaheim Ducks visited the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 30, the Ducks walked away with a 4-3 victory after Mason McTavish scored on a shorthanded breakaway with 13 seconds left in regulation. On Tuesday (Nov. 7), the Penguins visited Anaheim and got one back in a close 2-0 victory. Tristan Jarry and Magnus Hellberg shared the shutout, more on that in a moment, the fifth Penguins shared shutout and first since 2013.
Tonight (Nov. 9), the 5-6-0 Penguins finish their three-game California residency with a stop in Los Angeles to face a Kings team off to a strong start. At 8-2-2, they trail only divisional foes the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Western Conference. The Kings enter tonight’s game on no rest, having dispatched the Golden Knights 4-2 last night (Nov. 8), giving them their seventh-straight road win to begin the season, which ties them for fourth-best all-time.
Though the Penguins are playing better, they must be aware of the firepower the Kings are bringing into the game. Normally a strong defensive club, the Kings find themselves second only to the Canucks in both goals scored (51) and goals scored per game (4.25). The Penguins defense will be challenged, especially if they are without their starting goaltender, Jarry.
Setting the Stage: Lineups, Injuries & Stats
For the Penguins, Jeff Carter has now been a healthy scratch for the last two games, replaced on the fourth line by Vinnie Hinostroza. This looks to be unchanged going forward. Against Anaheim on Tuesday, in a strange collision in the crease with Adam Henrique of the Ducks while taking a shot to the mask, Jarry left the game after 38 minutes. Shaken up, he is listed as day-to-day and is a game-time decision.
As for the Kings, Andre Lee had been on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. The Kings activated Lee on Nov. 8 but then assigned him to the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Injuries
- Penguins: Will Butcher (undisclosed, the Penguins placed Butcher on injured reserve), Tristan Jarry (Jarry has an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day, per CapFriendly), John Ludvig (concussion, Ludvig is out indefinitely with a concussion, per CapFriendly), Alex Nedeljkovic (lower body, the Penguins placed Nedeljkovic on injured reserve), Mark Pysyk (lower body, the Penguins placed Pysyk on injured reserve)
- Kings: Viktor Arvidsson (lower body, the Kings placed Arvidsson on long-term injured reserve)
Interesting Stats and Facts
- With an assist against the Ducks, Jake Guentzel now has two goals and five points in his last two games to go along with three goals and eight points in his last six games. Guentzel leads the Penguins with 10 assists and 14 points through 11 games, and has three goals and eight points in nine games against the Kings.
- Sidney Crosby is quietly riding a six-game scoring streak with three goals, including an empty net backhand goal from center ice to put away the Ducks on Tuesday. Against the Kings, he has 14 assists and 19 points in 20 games.
- Radim Zohorna continues to prove his worth, opening the scoring at 12:34 of the first period on Tuesday with the eventual game winner. His game winner was the first of the season for any Penguin not among the top six forwards.
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- For the Kings, Kevin Fiala may only have one goal, but with an assist against the Golden Knights, he became the fifth King in the last 30 years to record 12 assists through 12 games. Wayne Gretzky, Anze Kopitar, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Zigmund Palffy are the others.
- Speaking of Kopitar, he scored his 400th career goal on Wednesday, and enters tonight’s game with seven goals and 13 points in 12 games.
- Though he is a question mark tonight, Jarry enters the game with a 4-5-0 record through nine games with a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and a .907 save percentage (SV%). Hellberg saved all 11 shots he faced against the Ducks in 21:36 of relief work. He enters tonight’s game with a 2.14 GAA and a .929 SV%, all in relief.
- Veteran Cam Talbot has started the year hot for the Kings and after last night’s victory against the Golden Knights holds a share of the NHL’s wins lead with Alexander Georgiev and Thatcher Demko with seven. Talbot enters tonight with a 2.03 GAA and a stellar .930 SV%. In relief, Phoenix Copley has struggled with a 4.98 GAA and a .788 SV%.
Penguins vs. Kings Storylines
Though the Penguins may have finally started generating offense on the third and fourth lines with the recent additions of Zohorna and Hinostroza, Rickard Rakell remains the odd man out on the second. It isn’t for lack of effort: Rakell had four shots in the last game against the Ducks and has 34 shots in 11 games, but he can’t find any puck luck going goalless and only collecting three assists. In 38 games against the Kings, he has nine goals, so maybe tonight will be his night.
The Kings look to be one of the stronger teams coming out of the Western Conference this season. Their offense is clicking, and though he is normally a sniper, Adrian Kempe has been more of a set-up guy so far. After seasons of 35 and 41 goals, he has nine assists and 14 points through 12 games. Trevor Moore is tied with Kopitar with a team-leading seven goals to date.
This is the first of two meetings between the two teams. After tonight, the Kings play the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (Nov. 11), and the Penguins will play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at home. The puck drops tonight at 10:30 PM EST.