Nic Dowd scored the game-winning goal in overtime and the Los Angeles slipped past the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, on Thursday night at Staples Center.
After the Kings were unable to score with the 4-on-3 man advantage in the first two minutes of overtime, it looked like they might have to prepare for a shootout, but Dowd scored the game-winner on a smooth deke on Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Kings the win.
Nic Dowd OT winner for LA. Filthy hands in tight pic.twitter.com/kmEd3QxplO — Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 4, 2016
Trevor Lewis and Matt Greene scored slump-busting goals and Peter Budaj made 21 saves in a strong bounce-back effort for the Kings, who had been shut out in three consecutive games before they beat the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Greene's goal was his first since March of 2015 after he played only three games last season due to a shoulder injury.
Sidney Crosby scored two goals for Pittsburgh, giving him six in five games to start his season.
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What a bounce pass! pic.twitter.com/n2T7ypgntg — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 4, 2016
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots for the Penguins, whose four-game winning streak ended.
The Kings started overtime with a power play, but Pittsburgh easily killed it. Dowd then got in alone on Fleury and roofed a backhand for his second NHL goal.
Despite giving up Crosby's tying goal midway through the third period, the Kings rallied to win a meeting of Second Six NHL franchises celebrating their 50th anniversaries. These teams have won four of the last eight Stanley Cup titles, but only the Penguins are in contending form at this early point of the season.
Crosby has been in rare form since missing the first six games with a concussion, scoring goals in four of his five games with two multi-goal efforts already. He scored in the first period and tied the game midway through the third, deflecting home Kris Letang's shot.
Lewis ended the Kings' 10-period scoreless streak in the second. Los Angeles had played 205 minutes, 25 seconds without a goal before Lewis' contested attempt trickled underneath Fleury for the grinding forward's first regular-season goal since March 26.
Greene then ended his 26-game scoring drought with a long slap shot early in the third. The stay-at-home defenseman hadn't scored a point since March 3, 2015.
Matt Greene: Destroyer of men, scorer of beautiful goals. pic.twitter.com/AGakf08uQW — #LAKings (@LAKings) November 4, 2016
All five of the Kings wins this season have come in overtime.
NOTES: Kings G Jeff Zatkoff got his Stanley Cup ring from the Penguins before the game. Zatkoff, currently injured, played early in the postseason for Pittsburgh last spring on the way to its title. ... D Kevin Gravel made his season debut for the Kings in place of Tom Gilbert, who served the first game of a three-game suspension for boarding Anaheim's Nick Ritchie on Tuesday. ... LW Teddy Purcell returned to the Kings' lineup for the first time since Oct. 14. The newcomer played in Los Angeles' first two games, but was scratched for the next eight with an undisclosed injury. ... Pittsburgh scratched RW Tom Kuhnhackl for the second straight game. He scored no goals in the first nine games.
UP NEXT
Penguins: At San Jose on Saturday night for a Stanley Cup Final rematch at the Shark Tank.
Kings: Host Calgary on Saturday night before heading to Eastern Canada for a road trip.
