Shea-ved Ice: Penguins Vs. Kings Preview
LOS ANGELES (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to put an end to a two-game losing skid when they face the Los Angeles Kings Saturday night.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The Penguins dominated the first period of play to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
The Pens also led 3-1 in the third period, but the Sharks kept pushing and eventually tied the game with just under five minutes to play.
The game would go to a shootout and Ryan Clowe would score the lone goal to give the Sharks the extra point in the standings.
The Kings pack a powerful offensive punch with Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.
Kopitar leads the Kings with six goals and eight assists. Richards is a close second with two goals and eight assists.
They also get plenty of offense from the blue line with Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson.
However, the biggest story to come out of Los Angeles this season is the play of goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Quick is 6-2-2 with a 1.66 GAA and a .941 save percentage, including three straight shutouts. His shutout streak of 202:11 is a Kings record.
In his career, Quick is 1-1-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .893 save percentage against the Penguins.
However, the Kings have lost three straight (0-2-1) and have only scored four goals in those three games.
For Pittsburgh, the injuries just keep piling up as Ben Lovejoy will miss an indefinite period of time after suffering a broken wrist against the Sharks.
Robert Bortuzzo has been called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and could make his NHL debut tonight. Alexandre Picard has also been recalled.
James Neal continues to lead the Penguins with nine goals and four assists, but Kris Letang (one goal, 11 assists) and Evgeni Malkin (four goals, six assists) are hot on his heels.
Prior to the loss to the Sharks, Marc-Andre Fleury had won four straight starts. So far this season, Fleury is 7-2-1 with 1.96 GAA and a .932 save percentage.
Against the Kings, he is 3-2 with a 2.35 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
The puck is set to drop at 10:30 p.m. and can be seen on Root Sports.
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CaseySheaPens.
For More Penguins Coverage Check Out Puck Talk With Popchock.
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