Penguins rally late to beat the Kings, winning it on Rickard Rakell's overtime tally

Matt Vensel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 17, 2024

Published in Hockey

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PITTSBURGH — The Penguins rallied back to steal two points from the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, beating the NHL’s stingiest team, 3-2, in overtime.

Rickard Rakell deflected home the OT winner 1:44 into the extra session.

The Penguins let their opponents score first for the fourth consecutive game. Anze Kopitar and the Kings had a dominant opening shift against Sidney Crosby and the top line culminating in Adrian Kempe’s tap-in tally on starter Alex Nedeljkovic.

The teams traded goals in the second period. Both came on 2-on-1 rushes. Evgeni Malkin got his second goal in 17 games when he got his stick on a skittering puck in the crease. About five minutes later, Alex Turcotte beat Nedeljkovic upstairs.

The Penguins pushed hard throughout the third period. Crosby and his linemates led the way. Crosby earned two point-blank tries but his scoring skid continues.

It was Matt Grzelcyk who scored with 5:35 left in regulation to pull the Penguins back even, 2-2. Crosby made a heady play to hit him with a backhand pass, and the blue-liner beat Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper with a wrister from 25 feet out.

Ice chips

— The Penguins placed Marcus Pettersson on injured reserve Tuesday and recalled Nathan Clurman from the American Hockey League. He is a right-shot defenseman who at 26 is still waiting to make his NHL debut. Clurman signed with the Penguins in July after he spent the previous three years with the Colorado organization.

— With Pettersson out week to week, Grzelcyk was promoted to play alongside Erik Karlsson, and Ryan Shea reentered the lineup. In his first game since Dec. 6, Shea was on the third pair next to Ryan Graves. Kris Letang and rookie Owen Pickering remained together. They were on for the first two goals scored by Los Angeles.

— Crosby hasn’t scored in 10 games. The captain’s last goal came back on Nov. 23.

— Nedeljkovic got his first start since a Dec. 6 loss to the New York Rangers. He let in the second shot of the game, although Kempe was unmarked on the doorstep on that scoring play. Nedeljkovic rebounded to stop 29 of 31 shots in regulation.

— The PK went 3 for 3, which include a key kill late in regulation to get the game into OT. The Penguins have killed 14 consecutive penalties dating back to Dec. 7.

— The Penguins improved to 6-8-3 this season when giving up the game’s first goal.

— Forwards Kevin Hayes and Jesse Puljujarvi were again healthy scratches Tuesday against the Kings. Puljujarvi has suited up in just one of the team’s last 10 games.

Coming up

The Penguins are scheduled to practice at noon Wednesday in Cranberry and then they will hit the road for a quick two-game trip that starts Thursday at Nashville.

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