Connor McDavid scored the game's lone goal and Stuart Skinner provided a shutout to power the host Edmonton Oilers to a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse picked up assists as McDavid scored on his 28th birthday.Skinner made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 of the 30 shots that he faced in the Kings' crease.During four-on-four play, Draisaitl fed a pass to Nurse, who was unable to bury his one-timer, but McDavid found the back of the net on the rebound to give the Oilers the lead at 18:37 of the second period.The Kings had the game's first strong scoring opportunity, as Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar came streaking down the ice on a two-on-one just under five minutes into the first, but Skinner slid across the crease and robbed Kempe of a marker before the puck trickled onto the top of the net.McDavid was held in check for most of the first period but found himself open with 4:58 left while on the power play.The Oilers superstar took a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and got off a close-in shot that was turned aside by Kuemper.Los Angeles' Quinton Byfield looked poised to break the deadlock with 14:31 left in the second period. After taking the puck away from Draisaitl, he stormed down the ice before zipping his snap shot off the crossbar.With 4:34 remaining in the middle frame, Mattias Ekholm saw his opportunity to notch the game's first goal.

After an unplanned break in the schedule, the Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to five games when they open a five-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.Because of wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the Kings decided to postpone their game against the visiting Calgary Flames on Wednesday.They haven't played since a 2-1 win against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday, a game that Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller thought was the most "lopsided" of the season, as Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper "stole" them the victory with his 33 saves."You know, that can happen," Hiller said. "I can remember earlier in the season we had a game, I think was against Chicago, that we probably should have won. We ended up giving one up late and they beat us in overtime. You hope that they balance themselves out, but we'll take it."Kuemper won three of the four games on the Kings' homestand and will likely start against the Jets, who feature one of the best goalies in the NHL in Connor Hellebuyck.The Kings will also continue to count on defenseman Mikey Anderson, who has taken his game to another level this season and, once again, separated himself from the other Los Angeles defensemen against the Lightning."Somehow, some way, Mikey was elite with a group that really struggled," Hiller said. "Power to him. He's playing some hockey, boy."Hiller has leaned on Anderson and partner Vladislav Gavrikov by pitting them against the opposing team's top forwards. The pair will likely see plenty of time against Winnipeg's top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and former Kings player Gabriel Vilardi."They're fun," Anderson said. "They're the matchups you want."The Jets ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.Hellebuyck made 26 saves in his 300th NHL win, which seemed to strike a chord with the 10-year veteran.

The Los Angeles Kings are riding a four-game winning streak and have won nine in a row at home.But with a lengthy stretch between games as they prepare to host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, the Kings had an intense practice session Monday."We've only practiced three times as a team in probably the last month ... we had that long road trip, break over Christmas, so (this) was a chance just to get out," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller told lakingsinsider.com. "Practice was similar to our preseason practices, where we went 50 minutes hard, worked on a lot, got up and down the ice. I'm hoping that's just going to get us back reset mentally."The Kings are coming off a 2-1 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, but they know it was far from a top-shelf performance amid a 12-2-2 run. Los Angeles, however, will look to complete a perfect five-game homestand and build on the third-longest home winning streak in franchise history."The way we won those games; some have been a complete 60 minutes where we feel like we're on top of it the whole time," defenseman Mikey Anderson said. "A game like (Saturday), maybe don't have it for majority of the game, but still find a way to get one when we need it and lock it down and then come away with the win. So I feel like it's been a mix of everything, but again, that's guys pulling different directions and a sign of a good team."Forward Adrian Kempe has goals in three consecutive games and is riding a five-game point streak with three goals and three assists.The Flames arrive in Los Angeles after claiming a 3-2 overtime win over the host Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, the first half of a road trip with their moms on the trip."It's always nice to get a win, especially in front of the moms," Calgary forward Nazem Kadri said. "I think it's a little more extra incentive. It sounds like they had themselves a bit of a day, so it's nice to see them enjoying themselves."Calgary snapped a two-game losing streak to pull even in points with the Vancouver Canucks for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. The Flames, however, have played one more game than the Canucks.

The Los Angeles Kings continued their mastery of their home ice Saturday as Adrian Kempe's goal with 5:48 left in regulation beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1.Kempe's team-leading 19th goal extended his point streak to a season-high five games. Mikey Anderson recorded his fifth goal of the season for Los Angeles, which won its fourth consecutive game and its ninth in a row at home.Darcy Kuemper stopped a season-high 34 shots to win his third straight start and seventh in his last nine.Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay, which lost its third straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the Lightning.Kempe rushed off the bench to score the game-winner after Alex Turcotte scrambled after a loose puck in the neutral zone. As Turcotte drew the attention of Lightning defensemen Emil Lilleberg and Nick Perbix, the 23-year-old's drop pass found Kempe alone in the slot. Kempe then beat Vasilevskiy to give Los Angeles its first lead of the night.The scoring started early, with Hedman putting the Lightning up just 69 seconds into the game. Tampa Bay's captain, who left Thursday's loss at San Jose in the third period after taking a puck to the side of the head, fired one from near the blue line. Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel set up Hedman for his fifth of the season and first since Nov. 16.

The Los Angeles Kings will chase a ninth consecutive home victory -- and fourth straight win overall -- when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday evening in a matchup of two of the NHL's stingiest teams.Only the Dallas Stars have given up fewer goals (93) this season than either the Kings (95) or the Lightning (99).Despite the strong defensive record, the Kings are coming off just their second shutout victory of the season. Darcy Kuemper stopped 33 shots Wednesday as Los Angeles beat the visiting New Jersey Devils 3-0.Kuemper has posted a 6-0-2 record since returning on Dec. 7 from a lower-body injury that shelved him for more than three weeks.Los Angeles' home winning streak is tied for the third longest in franchise history. Speaking after the win over the Devils, coach Jim Hiller was quick to give credit to the fans."I've said this many times, but this building -- and over these last three games, I guess it's the holidays -- the building's just been rocking," Hiller said. "I think that it's a really fun vibe. The music is good. Our guys love playing here. The fans are passionate. So, there's no doubt that that drives us forward."Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 18 goals and his 36 points are second behind Anze Kopitar's 39 (12 goals, 27 assists). Kempe's empty-net goal with less than five minutes left in the Wednesday victory extended his point streak to a season-high four games (two goals, three assists).The Lightning arrive in Southern California after losing a pair. On Thursday, coach Jon Cooper's team dropped the opener of its three-game California road trip 2-1 to the San Jose Sharks, who have given 143 goals (second most in the league).Despite Tampa Bay being tied for third in the league with 135 goals, only Anthony Cirelli was able to get a puck past Yaroslav Askarov in San Jose. Still, Cooper was convinced the loss was not due to a lack of effort.

Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves for the Los Angeles Kings in a 3-0 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils on Wednesday afternoon.Kuemper earned his second shutout of the season and 33rd of his NHL career, moving him into sole possession of 12th place among active NHL goalies.Andre Lee scored his first NHL goal and Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who have won three in a row and eight straight at home.Jake Allen made 21 saves for the Devils, who have lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season.New Jersey was coming off a 3-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday evening.The Kings allowed a season-high 15 shots in the first period while taking nine of their own, but neither team could hit the net.Playing in his 19th NHL game, Lee received a lofted pass from Jordan Spence and held off Devils defenseman Brett Pesce while driving to the net. Lee lifted the puck as he neared the crease and banked it off the crossbar to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at 6:23 of the second.Timo Meier appeared to score with a spinning shot from the slot to tie it 1-1 with 7:54 remaining in the second, but the Kings challenged for goalie interference on Devils forward Stefan Noesen and the goal was overturned following a review.

Los Angeles Kings coach Jim Hiller has learned there is no need to panic when the ice seems to be tilted the wrong way.The Kings have shown they can turn things around in a hurry, something to keep in mind when they host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.Los Angeles rallied from third-period deficits to win back-to-back home games last weekend, first beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime on Saturday, then knocking off the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Sunday."I've got a lot of trust and faith in the team that they can see it as much as you can see it," Hiller said. "They're playing it. They know this isn't exactly the way it should be going, and it's just a matter of trying to just get everybody to gather themselves by taking a breath. Sometimes it takes longer than others."Most recently, it was 19-year veteran Anze Kopitar who scored two goals in the third period to beat the Flyers after Los Angeles trailed by two goals with five minutes left in the second period.Kopitar has 39 points through 36 games, posting double-figure point totals in each of the first three months of the season."It doesn't feel like I'm getting any younger," said Kopitar, 37. "The season's been going pretty well so far, but as I said before, it's always about the team. We're plugging away, we're racking up points, and I guess we're in a pretty good spot right now."Hiller was particularly impressed with Kopitar's performance on Sunday after the Slovenian forward spent much of Saturday defending Oilers star Connor McDavid."I didn't think he had great legs the first two periods (against the Flyers), but it doesn't matter. He is who he is," Hiller said. "So you get him out there and good things happen. Both goals, a tip and then one right at the right at the post, he goes to the net, he knows how to score."

Anze Kopitar scored a pair of third-period goals, Adrian Kempe added a goal and an assist, and the Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday to increase their home winning streak to seven games.Kevin Fiala and Warren Foegele added goals and David Rittich made 17 saves for the Kings, who improved to 10-2-2 dating to Nov. 27, with a pair of victories over the Flyers in the stretch.Kopitar moved into a tie with Dave Taylor for third place on the Kings' all-time goals-scored list with 431 in 19 seasons.Scott Laughton and Matvei Michkov each scored a goal with an assist for the Flyers, while Tyson Foerster and Joel Farabee also had goals. Aleksei Kolosov made 15 saves for Philadelphia, which lost for the fifth time in its past seven games (2-5-0).With the Kings trailing 4-3 entering the third period, Kopitar scored after a Kolosov save on a shot from Quinton Byfield to tie the score at 6:44. Kopitar scored the game-winner just over two minutes later when he tipped in a Kempe shot after he had just won a faceoff in the Philadelphia zone.The Kings took a 1-0 lead just over five minutes into the game when Fiala scored his 14th of the season from the left circle on a shot that went through the legs of Laughton.

After a pleasant return home from a challenging pre-Christmas road trip, the Los Angeles Kings will search for consecutive victories for the first time in nearly three weeks when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.The Flyers also will be in the hunt for consecutive victories after they weathered a 1-4-0 stretch that included a 7-3 home loss to the Kings on Dec. 19.The Kings' seven-goal outburst against the Flyers represents their highest scoring game of the season.While Los Angeles did earn points in five of seven games on its recent trip (3-2-2), stringing together wins proved challenging.The Kings started the frequent-flyer bonanza with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Dec. 10 that came at the tail end of a recent six-game winning streak. Overtime losses at Pittsburgh (Dec. 17) and Nashville (Dec. 21) prevented back-to-back wins for Los Angeles.On Saturday at home, the Kings finally conquered overtime in a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Quinton Byfield scored in overtime to cap his two-goal, one-assist performance, and Warren Foegele also had three points (one goal, two assists).Byfield has eight goals on the season, with five coming in his past six games."We've been using our speed the last couple games and using our size, and we're just wearing them down and getting pucks to the net," Foegele said. "It's a pretty simple recipe, but we're sticking with it, and credit to the guys for playing the right way."In their victory at Philadelphia, the Kings received goals from Byfield, Foegele and Tanner Jeannot, as well as two each from Kevin Fiala and captain Anze Kopitar.The Flyers enter off their own victory in Southern California after they got past the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Saturday. Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee each scored a third-period goal, while Samuel Ersson made 32 saves.

Quinton Byfield scored twice, including the overtime winner, and had an assist in a 4-3 win for the Los Angeles Kings against the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.Byfield went bar down far side from the left circle at 3:19 of overtime.Warren Foegele had a goal and two assists, Jordan Spence had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings, who improved to 11-2-1 at home.Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Viktor Arvidsson scored for the Oilers, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 16 games (12-3-1). Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.Tanner Jeannot forced the tiebreaker for Los Angeles at 2:32 of the third period, redirecting a feed from Spence on the doorstep stick side on Skinner to tie it 3-3.Edmonton scored twice on its first four shots of the second period to take the lead.Nugent-Hopkins connected 12 seconds into the power play to tie it 2-2 at 3:20 of the second period, taking a pass from Connor McDavid in the slot and quickly firing it blocker side on Kuemper.The assist extended McDavid's point streak to 10 games (three goals, 16 assists), marking the 16th such streak of his NHL career.

The Edmonton Oilers have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL over the past five and a half weeks. Now, with the holiday break in the rearview mirror, they'll look to keep it going when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.Back on Nov. 18, the Oilers were 9-8-2 after a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. They rebounded the next night with a 5-2 win against the host Ottawa Senators, spurring their current 12-3-0 stretch. Most recently, they've won three in a row, including a 3-1 home victory against the Senators on Sunday."I think we're in a good spot," goalie Stuart Skinner said after that contest. "We're finding ways to win games. We don't want to lose two in a row, and we've been doing a pretty good job of that lately. I think the way we've been playing in all ends of the ice has been pretty consistent."Edmonton scored 2.63 goals per game and allowed 3.16 goals through the first five weeks of the season. They've done a 180-degree flip, averaging 4.07 goals for while limiting opponents to an average of 2.33 from Nov. 19 and on. Special teams have also improved, with the power play going from 16.3 percent efficiency to 28.2 percent and the penalty kill from a 67.4 percent success rate up to 86.7 percent.A resurgent Zach Hyman has helped contribute to the Oilers' success. The 32-year-old has seven goals in a six-game goal streak and has 10 of his 13 on the season in nine games since returning from injury Dec. 5."When you're feeling good, things are easier, things slow down," he said. "When you're not feeling good, everything seems fast. ... So much of hockey and sports are results-driven. And when you're not getting the results, you know that it's about the process and about getting your looks and getting your chances and being around it."The Kings, meanwhile, kick off a five-game homestand with Saturday's tilt, hoping to rebound following back-to-back losses in the finale of a seven-game road trip that spanned 13 days. Los Angeles has struggled slightly since posting a sixth straight win against the New York Islanders, dropping four of the six games that followed (2-2-2).Despite the average results on the trip, the Kings are just one point behind the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division.

Aliaksei Protas scored twice for the Washington Capitals in a 3-1 win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.Jakub Vrana scored the eventual game-winning goal, Pierre-Luc Dubois had two assists and Logan Thompson made 25 saves for the Capitals, who have won 10 of their past 13 (10-2-1).Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings, who have lost two straight (0-1-1) for the first time since Nov. 11-13. David Rittich made 18 saves.After a slow start for both sides, Washington started to pick up the pace midway through the first period.Shortly after Rittich made a pair of stops on Ivan Miroshnichenko and John Carlson, Protas gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Alex Turcotte's clearing attempt along the right wall hit Connor McMichael's skate and deflected over to Dubois. The center pushed a short feed up to Protas, who took it to the front of the net and snapped it stick side on Rittich at 10:20.Fiala snapped the Kings' 0-for-10 drought on the power play to tie it at 1-all at 4:10 of the second period. He took a pass from Brandt Clarke at the top of the right circle, and after a quick back-and-forth with Adrian Kempe, one-timed a snap shot short side by Thompson's left arm.Vrana put Washington back in front on the power play at 14:18. Dubois collected Warren Foegele's clearing attempt at the blue line and fed Vrana for a snap shot from above the slot that went in off the left post to put the hosts ahead 2-1.The Kings and Capitals traded chances in the third period.

The Los Angeles Kings look to close a seven-game road trip on a high note when they visit the Washington Capitals on Sunday.The Kings are 3-1-2 thus far on their trip, most recently rallying for a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Los Angeles trailed 2-0 after two periods before scoring twice in a four-minute stretch in the third period.On Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Kings were down by a goal late in the second period before captain Anze Kopitar forged a tie with 44 seconds left. Los Angeles scored four more goals in the third period of a 7-3 win."I think the third period, those are the most important periods right there," center Quinton Byfield said. "We go into the (third period Thursday) tied, (Saturday) we go down into the third down 2-0; it just shows the commitment that we have and the will that we want to win. I think everyone, when it comes to the third, ups their game."Byfield has scored half of his six goals on the season over the past four games, totaling four points in that stretch. He mustered just two points (one goal, one assist) in 12 games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 12. He's averaging a career-high 17:26 of ice time this season.The Capitals, meanwhile, will be looking for a second straight win after snapping a two-game skid with a 3-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.Washington was 11-2-1 before dropping consecutive games to the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks early in the week. On Sunday, the team opens up a back-to-back set -- concluding with a visit to the Boston Bruins on Monday -- before the NHL pauses for the Christmas break.The goal for the Capitals is to stay in the moment and not look ahead.

Nick Blankenburg scored at 1:03 of overtime, and the Nashville Predators recovered for a 3-2 win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.Filip Forsberg won a puck battle and took it to the right circle before feeding the defenseman, who was at the goal line to sweep in a backhand, with goalie Darcy Kuemper at the top of the crease.Zachary L'Heureux and Jonathan Marchessault scored, and Justus Annunen made 22 saves for the Predators, who are 3-0-2 in their past five games.Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, who have lost two of three. Kuemper made 23 saves.After falling behind 2-0, Byfield cut it to 2-1 at 9:24 in the third, quickly roofing a wrister short side from the inner side of the left circle.Laferriere tied it 2-2 on a delayed penalty at 13:23 when he pushed in a loose puck in front.It was a slow start for both teams in the first period, combining for just five shots on goal through the first eight minutes, but the Kings started to find their legs and up their game as the period progressed.But it was the hosts who opened the scoring late in the frame, courtesy of L'Heureux.

Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala each scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings tallied four goals in the third period in a 7-3 victory over the host Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.Warren Foegele added a goal and an assist for Los Angeles, which improved to 3-1-1 on its season-long seven-game road trip. Tanner Jeannott and Quinton Byfield also scored, and Alex Laferriere, Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence each chipped in a pair of assists for the Kings.Tyson Foerster notched two goals and an assist for Philadelphia, which has dropped six of its last eight games (2-5-1). Aleksei Kolosov surrendered six goals on 26 shots for the Flyers, while Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.The game was tied entering the third period before Foegele made it 4-3 at 1:54 with an athletic redirection of a shot by Spence.Kopitar, who had not scored in his first six games this month, added some insurance with his second of the night. Alex Turcotte avoided a defender near the right boards and sent a perfect saucer pass over to Kopitar, who beat Kolosov for his 10th of the season.Byfield added an empty-net goal with 3:37 remaining before Fiala's second of the night and 12th of the season capped the scoring with 2:26 to go.

The Los Angeles Kings look to stay hot when they visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday.The Kings head into the matchup on a 9-2-1 streak over their past 12 games, a stretch that includes a six-game winning streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 10. They're 3-1-1 on their current seven-game road trip, which concludes Sunday at the Washington Capitals.Most recently, Los Angeles is coming off a 7-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. The Kings trailed by a goal late in the second period before captain Anze Kopitar tied it with 44 seconds remaining before the team rattled off four goals in the third."I just think we started the game, maybe the first 10 minutes, playing our game, what we call Kings hockey, and then it was just a matter of whose game were we going to play in the third period and I thought we played our game," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. "Again, really happy and proud of the guys to be able to come out that way in the third and play our game."Kopitar had two goals against the Flyers, snapping a six-game goal drought, giving him five points in his past three games. The 37-year-old leads the team with 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) and is on pace to surpass his career-high of 92 points set back in 2017-18."To be his age and to be to be out there playing against the other team's best players night after night, and then making an offensive contribution too, while leading the team, I don't know, that's really, really difficult to do," Hiller said. "I know that's difficult to do at 25, never mind at 37."Los Angeles has been getting things done at both ends of the ice during the current run, outscoring the opposition 40-23. They've allowed more than three goals only once during that stretch and have held their opponents to two goals or fewer in eight of those games.The Predators, meanwhile, will aim to rebound after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Kings continue their seven-game road trip Thursday as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers, who are looking to tighten up defensively as they return back home.The Kings are 2-1-1 on a trek that most recently featured a 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Los Angeles led 1-0 and 2-1 in that contest on Tuesday before ultimately settling for one point as Darcy Kuemper allowed the tying goal late in regulation and the decisive tally early in overtime.Still, Kuemper finished with 28 saves, including eight on the power play."Not good enough, clearly," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. "Third periods have been our best, I think, it's been a trend, anyway, for a while. It was not tonight. We relied on Darcy way too much."The Kings have lost two of three following a six-game winning streak. They yielded three goals in each of those two recent defeats after not giving up more than two goals in any game during their winning streak."It's frustrating when you don't come away with two points," said Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who scored 33 seconds into Tuesday's contest. "We'll take the one point, I guess, and move on. ... It could've gone either way. But I think, overall, maybe not our best game."Alex Turcotte scored the other goal for Los Angeles, giving him four goals in 26 games this season. Entering 2024-25, he had one career goal in 32 NHL games."He's a skilled guy," Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov said of the 23-year-old Turcotte. "You can see that much in the game. ... I think he's making (progress) step by step and he's earned it."Speaking of progress, the Flyers are hoping to begin trending in the right direction after dropping five of their previous seven games. They came back from a two-goal deficit to draw even against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, but they ultimately fell short in a 6-4 decision.

Rickard Rakell scored on a wrist shot from the right point at 1:44 of overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.Rakell also had an assist, Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk added goals and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves for the Penguins, who trailed by a goal with six minutes left.Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte scored, Vladislav Gavrikov contributed two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the Kings, who have dropped two of three following a six-game winning streak.Kempe scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season 33 seconds into the game to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.Anze Kopitar brought the puck behind the Pittsburgh net before passing to Kempe in front of the crease and he scored on a one-timer.Kempe has eight goals in the past four games against Pittsburgh. He combined for three goals in two games against the Penguins last season and scored a career-high four goals in a 6-0 win against Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, 2023.The Penguins tied it 1-1 at 6:22 of the second period after Michael Bunting and Malkin sprung loose on a 2-on-1 break.

The Los Angeles Kings have reached the halfway mark of their longest road trip of the season, and they'll try to continue playing their best hockey of 2024 when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.The Kings have won seven of their past eight games, most recently beating the New York Rangers 5-1 on Saturday.It was a nice recovery for Los Angeles after it lost 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday."We wanted a bounce-back game and I feel like we did that, and as a team," Kings forward Quinton Byfield said. "The Rangers are a good team, so we kind of just answered the bell. We all just want to have a bounce-back game and that's how it happened."Byfield, Warren Foegele, Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte each contributed a goal and an assist against the Rangers."When we're playing direct and north, we create stuff for the team," Turcotte said. "I felt that in the New Jersey game, we didn't really get a chance to forecheck because we weren't really playing north."Anze Kopitar also contributed two assists and continued his streak of not committing a minor penalty this season."I think it's positioning, it's an understanding of the game," Kings coach Jim Hiller said. "He never retaliates, he doesn't get too high, too low on anything. Whether he makes a good play or a bad play, he's steady for the next shift. He doesn't let his emotions get him off his game."Kings forward Trevor Moore sustained an upper-body injury against New Jersey and did not practice on Monday.The Kings headed to Pittsburgh after playing the three New York-area teams. Los Angeles still has road games at Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington before returning home just in time for Christmas.The Penguins have dropped three of five (2-2-1) and are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.The loss was especially difficult because Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson left the game with a lower-body injury midway through the first period after absorbing a hit that sent him crashing into the boards.

The Los Angeles Kings erupted for three goals in the second period to take a commanding lead and finished off 5-1 road victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday.Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele each tallied a goal and an assist in the victory, while Darcy Kuemper turned aside 31 of 32 shots he faced.Anze Kopitar added two assists for the Kings, who won for the seventh time in their past eight games.Byfield, Kempe, and Phillip Danault all scored in the first 5:04 of the second period to chase Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin from the net.The Kings jumped out to the lead 7:05 into the contest as Turcotte took a crafty feed from Kempe on a 2-on-1 rush and scored.Less than a minute after the game's opening goal Connor Mackey tried to spark the Rangers as he fought with Samuel Helenius.With 4:54 left in the first period Byfield fed Foegele out in front of the net and after failing to score on his first shot, he picked up his own rebound and doubled up the Kings' advantage.Byfield then increased the Kings' lead to 3-0 just under three minutes into the second period as he took the feed from Foegele and wired the puck past Shesterkin.