Jarrett Stoll scored the go-ahead goal with 7:51 to play, and the Los Angeles Kings roared from behind with a four-goal third period in a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in a standout performance for the Kings, who ended the Penguins' season-opening, seven-game road winning streak. NHL scoring leader Anze Kopitar's second goal tied it early in the third for the Kings, who improved to 6-0-2 in their last eight games for the club's longest point streak since November 2000. Los Angeles dramatically took charge late after two frustrating periods against the defending champions. Michal Handzus scored on a rebound just 23 seconds after Stoll's one-timer on a clever pass from captain Dustin Brown. Brown added a goal with 2:30 left during a delayed penalty, putting a flourish on a victory that could signal the Kings' early-season excellence is for real. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots but couldn't slow down the third-period barrage by the Kings, who haven't lost in regulation since Oct. 17. Two nights after erasing a late two-goal deficit at Phoenix for a 5-3 win, the Kings again finished strong Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz scored for the Penguins, who lead the Eastern Conference with 24 points. Pittsburgh opened its four-game road trip on Tuesday with a 4-3 win at Anaheim, matching the longest road winning streak in franchise history with just the Penguins' second win in California in nearly 11 years. Pittsburgh dropped to 2-2 without Evgeni Malkin, last season's NHL scoring champion, who's out with a strained shoulder. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar also is out. Continued... |