Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-1) head into the second game of their three game homestand.
Pittsburgh, is fresh off of a dominant 8-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. The Pittsburgh Penguins look to keep their dynamic offensive rolling tonight against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings (6-1-2).
History:
Last season the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings met twice, in which the road team won each game. Tonight, the Penguins are at home and look to prevent that from happening again this season.
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In the Pittsburgh Penguins road victory over the Kings, star center Evgeni Malkin scored in the first minute of play. The fast start would be continued by the Penguins as they won the game 4-1 and handed LA their seventh loss in eight games.
When Pittsburgh was at home against Los Angeles last season, it was not a pretty result. The two teams entered the third period locked in a tie game 2-2. All this changed when the Kings’ top defender, Drew Doughty rifled a shot from the point and gave his team the lead. The Pittsburgh Penguins had no response and went on to lose the game 3-2.
This Season:
Pittsburgh Penguins
Through the Penguins first eight games, their powerplay has been virtually unstoppable. Overall, they are still converting at over 40% with a man advantage and the Pittsburgh Penguins penalty kill continues to improve. Each game it seems the Pens have more and more short handed chances and actually last game Pittsburgh Penguins’ veteran Craig Adams managed to score on a breakaway goal.
Oct 28, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) is congratulated by defenseman Kris Letang (58) and right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) after Crosby scored a goal against New Jersey Devils goalie Scott Clemmensen (40) during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 8-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Anyone who has watched Pittsburgh this season knows they have had no trouble scoring goals. In fact, the Penguins have been averaging over four goals per game (4.12 to be exact) and their defense is finally coming around. Too often is Pittsburgh’s goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury criticized for defensive lapses, granted he makes his own fair share of mistakes, but the Penguins’ overall goals against average has improved every week and presently sits at 2.75.
Los Angeles Kings
Heading into this past Tuesday the Kings were riding a six game win streak, until they played the Philadelphia Flyers. Los Angeles lost in overtime 3-2 to the Penguins’ biggest rival. Overall, Los Angeles has been winning games in a different way from Pittsburgh. They score many less goals per game (2.56), but also allow the lowest amount of goals per game in the league (1.67).
Interesting Fact:
While the Pittsburgh Penguins are at home tonight, it is not necessarily an advantage this season. The Penguins have played five games at home, they managed to win three of those games and lost two. While on the road the Penguins have yet to lose in regulation, they have won two of their three road games with the third game ending with an overtime loss.
Yet, this would at first appear totally normal, teams often times will play better either at home or away. What is especially interesting is that Los Angeles has had no success on the road thus far. They have played two games away from the Staples Center, both have resulted in losses for the Kings.
So tonight, we have a team that has played decently at home (Pittsburgh) and a team that has not won on the road (Los Angeles), it will be interesting to watch which team shows up to play. Both teams cannot leave tonight with a loss so one of them will be able to improve their home/away record.
Final Prediction:
Tonight will be the classic example of an unstoppable force (Pittsburgh’s potent offense) versus immovable object (Los Angeles stout defense). I personally believe Pittsburgh will continue their offense dominance and find ways to score, but Los Angeles’ fate (as usual) rests upon the shoulders of their
superstar
goaltender