Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Los Angeles Kings Pick & Prediction JANUARY 20th 2025
Preview and Prediction
Following an underwhelming road trip, the Los Angeles Kings return to their home ice to take on the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday evening.
The Kings finished their five-game trip with a record of 2-3-0, ultimately falling to the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Saturday night.
Before embarking on another five-game trip next weekend, they will have two games at home to regroup.
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"We could have had a better record, but it's alright. We get to go back home, refresh, and then hit the road again," commented Kings forward Phillip Danault.
The trip began on a positive note with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets on January 10th, marking their fifth consecutive win.
However, they struggled to find the back of the net in losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, before bouncing back with a dominant 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Unfortunately, they were unable to end the trip on a high note, falling to the Kraken.
"It's been an unsuccessful road trip for us, so we need to gather ourselves, rest up, and put it behind us. We have another game in just two days," said Kings coach Jim Hiller.
The Kings last faced the Penguins on December 17th, losing 3-2 in overtime.
In that game, Kings forward Adrian Kempe scored and he has continued his scoring streak in the past two games, bringing his season total to 22 goals. This puts him on track to surpass his career-high of 41 goals in the 2022-23 season.
"We know that when we play the right way, we can win almost every game," added Danault.
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The Penguins are feeling the pressure after losing four of their last five games and eight of their last 10.
They started their season-long seven-game road trip with a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, but were unable to maintain the momentum and fell 4-1 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
In the wake of goalie Tristan Jarry being placed on waivers, goaltender Joel Blomqvist was called up from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. The 23-year-old rookie made 28 saves in his first start for the Penguins since November 11th.
"He was fantastic and kept us in the game until the very end," said Penguins forward Bryan Rust. "He's an incredibly talented goalie, so I have no doubt he will continue to improve and perform well."
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan praised Blomqvist's lateral movement and ability to cover the post.
"He's a great goalie," said Sullivan. "He has played exceptionally well in Wilkes. We thought he did a great job for us at the beginning of the season when he was here, but that's definitely the standout quality for him."
Blomqvist was drafted in the second round by the Penguins in 2020. He made the team out of training camp this season and started five games in October and two more in November before being sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
"I'm going to make the most of this opportunity," said Blomqvist. "I'm grateful for the chance and I'm going to give it my all."
Rust has been on fire offensively for the Penguins recently.
He has scored a goal in each of the last three games and has a four-game point streak overall.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Los Angeles Kings Recap JAN 20TH 2025
Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby and Anthony Beauvillier each had a goal and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins end the Los Angeles Kings' nine-game home winning streak with a 5-1 victory on Monday night.
Evgeni Malkin and Cody Glass also scored and Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the Penguins, who had lost four of their last five games and eight of their last 10 (2-5-3).
Adrian Kempe scored and David Rittich made 27 saves for the Kings, who have dropped four of five following a five-game winning streak. Los Angeles had not lost at home since a 1-0 setback to Buffalo on Nov. 20.
The Penguins went on the first power play of the game at 8:38 of the first period. Hayes carried the puck through the right circle and briefly appeared like he would bring the puck behind the net, but he cut toward the crease. Los Angeles defenseman Joel Edmundson poked the puck off his stick and into his own net for the game's first goal at 10:09.
Crosby was in the left circle when he deflected a one-timer from Matt Grzelcyk past Rittich for a 2-0 lead at 14:09 of the first.
The Penguins stretched the lead to 3-0 at 8:26 of the second period when Philip Tomasino drove through the left circle and made a backhand feed to Malkin, who swept the puck into the net from the bottom of the right circle.
Pittsburgh committed two minor penalties 57 seconds apart late in the second period and Kempe scored on the 5-on-3 when he banked a one-timer off the cross bar to cut it to 3-1 at 16:02.
The Penguins re-established their three-goal lead with one minute left in the period when Hayes centered a pass in front of the crease to Glass, who redirected the puck past Rittich to make it 4-1.
Rittich lost track of the puck after making a save and Beauvillier swept the puck into the net from the crease to make it 5-1 at 6:57 of the third.
The Penguins played without the team's leading goal scorer, Rickard Rakell, who returned to Pittsburgh for personal reasons.