Takeaways: Penguins Pounce Kings To Snap Four-Game Skid

To begin a three-game California road swing Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins badly needed a win. They had a four-game losing streak to snap, and they were trying to avoid the basement of the Eastern Conference standings.

And they were finally able to break through.

Tommy Novak and Sidney Crosby recorded two goals each, and the Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2, to grab that much-needed victory. Rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov was excellent, stopping 26 of 28 Kings' shots and helping to shut the game down late.

It wasn't necessarily the prettiest of affairs the entire night through, but the W at the end of the night is what mattered most, no matter how it happened, for a team in the Penguins' position.

The scoring started less than two minutes into the game, when the Penguins' second line of Ben Kindel, Tommy Novak, and Egor Chinakhov was cycling in the offensive zone. Declan Carlile took a pass from Kris Letang and threw it on net from the point, where a rebound squirted out to the low slot. Novak was waiting there, and he turned around and threw it at the net to beat Darcy Kuemper and put the Penguins up, 1-0.

And Novak wasn't done. Just a few minutes later, the Penguins broke into the offensive zone on the rush. Kindel drove the middle and put a puck on net, with Kuemper made a save with his left pad but failed to control the rebound. Novak swooped right in to pick it up, and he potted his second of the game to make it 2-0. 

Approaching the midway point of the opening frame, Corey Perry earned himself a garbage goal with some hard work to fend off Carlile at the net front, and the Ducks got some momentum to follow. They were pressing hard for the rest of the period, that is, until a penalty on Drew Doughty for interference with 2:22 to go.

On that late power play opportunity for the Penguins, the second unit was on the ice with less than a minute to go. With 28 seconds left on the clock, Ville Koivunen got the puck in the slot and set the table nicely with a dish to Chinakhov at the top of the left circle, and he unleashed his patented wrist shot. 

At first, it was ruled no-goal on the ice, but after a high-sticking penalty by L.A. with time winding down, officials went back and looked at it in what was a very short review. The puck had hit the back bar and came out quick enough for the official to miss it the first time, but it had no doubt crossed the goal line, and the Penguins led, 3-1, going into the second period.

The Kings came on strong again at the start of the second, and a Sam Girard hooking penalty led to a power play goal for Alex Laferriere to cut the Penguins' lead to 3-2. The teams traded some chances throughout the second period, but Pittsburgh got another late-period goal that was crucial. 

Erik Karlsson cut through the slot after a difficult keep-in and sent a perfect pass over to a waiting Malkin, who blasted one behind Kuemper and into the net to make it 4-2. Upon further review, the shot ticked off of Crosby's jersey on the way in, so the goal was changed. The point Crosby earned on the goal put him into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL's all-tiime scoring list, passing Marcel Dionne, with his 1,772nd career point.

Even though there were chances here and there, the Penguins largely shut down the third period, and they especially shut down the final few minutes. With a minute and 16 seconds to play and with the net empty, Crosby won a foot race to a loose puck heading toward the L.A. zone, and he was interfered with. Although it would have been a goal, anyway, he dove to put the puck in for the final finish. 

Here are a few takeaways from this one:

- Novak has been a revelation for the Penguins this season. He's always been a reliable player, but his offense has broken out in a big way.

He has seven goals and 14 points in 17 games to co-lead the team in goals alongside Nick Robertson. He's been a fixture in the top-six the entire season and on the power play. He's been excellent on the forecheck and does a lot of the little things to drive offense. 

All of a sudden, he is a valuable trade chip, too. If the Penguins fail to turn things around, don't be surprised if some teams covet him, especially with a new thre-year extension kicking in next season.

- This was a heck of an effort for the second line in general, and it looks like Novak really helped bring out the best in Kindel and Chinkahov, who had been building some chemistry with Malkin on that line prior. 

The third line of Koivunen, Hendrix Lapierre, and Justin Brazeau had a nice night, too, and were generating chances throughout. 

One thing that loading up the top line with Crosby, Malkin, and Rickard Rakell has done is create some easier matchups for other lines. Teams need to send out their best to defend the Penguins' best, and it seems to have opened things up for other players. 

We'll see how that unfolds over the next several games.

- It's been mentioned a few times, but Kaedan Korczak has been so consistently solid for the Penguins. 

There is a ton of discourse out there about the trade that brought Korczak to Pittsburgh, which sent lefty Parker Wotherspoon the other way. While, yes, Wotherspoon was solid for most of last season next to Erik Karlsson on the top pairing, he is older at age 29, he faded in the back half of the season, and he had one year left on his contract.

Korczak, 25, is younger, has term, and has performed just as well as Wotherspoon did last season. A lot of Korczak's work is quieter, and he isn't quite as overtly physical as Wotherspoon. But the details are there in his game, and he also has 10 points in 17 games on the season.

That trade should age well for the Penguins, even if their left side was weakened because of it. 

- No one needed this win more than Murashov. 

After a few rough outings in a row, he earned his first win of the season, and it was well-deserved. Although the Penguins were better in this one, they were far from perfect, and they made their fair share of mistakes in front of him. Neither goal was remotely his fault. And he answered the bell when he had to.

It will be interesting to see how the goaltender rotation operates moving forward. Arturs Silovs had a stretch of games where he was very good, but he's cooled off a bit. He has an .876 save percentage in 11 games. Murashov has an .880 save percentage in six.

Neither has lit the world on fire. If Silovs - who, presumably, will get the nod Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks - struggles at all in his next start or doesn't stand out in any particular way, Murashov should start Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks to close out the road trip. 

- Crosby really looks like he has his legs in these recent games. He was very good Saturday. He's slowly finding his form again.

Maybe the early dooming with regards to the 39-year-old captain was a tad bit premature. Next up, Ron Francis.

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