Kevin Fiala recorded his 500th career point on a tiebreaking goal with 8:08 left in regulation, and the visiting Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Los Angeles trailed 2-1 when 40-year-old Corey Perry drove home a Cody Ceci drop pass in the slot at 4:49 into the third period to tie things up.
Just over seven minutes later, Fiala used some nifty skating and stick work to maneuver by veteran Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson and beat rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov to give the Kings their only lead of the contest with his milestone point.
Fiala and Perry assisted on Anze Kopitar’s first-period goal for Los Angeles, which improved to 6-1-2 on the road this season. The Kings’ Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves.
Tommy Novak and Anthony Mantha each scored for Pittsburgh, which is mired in a 1-3-1 stretch. With Tristan Jarry hurt and Arturs Silovs in net for Saturday’s 2-1 shootout loss at New Jersey, the 21-year-old Murashov stopped 24 shots in his NHL debut.
The Penguins peppered Kuemper early and were rewarded with the game’s first goal at 8:48 into the opening period. Camped in front of the Kings’ net, Novak converted Evgeni Malkin’s well-placed backhanded pass into the slot.
However, Los Angeles, benefiting from some good fortune, equalized on the power play with 5:02 remaining in the first. Kopitar’s intended pass from the goal line left of the net resulted in a score after the puck was redirected off the stick of Pittsburgh defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and slid underneath Murashov and in.
Pittsburgh, though, regained the lead, via a power-play goal of its own with 12:12 left in the second period. This time, Mantha sent home a pass into the slot from Kris Letang to make it 2-1.
Murashov, meanwhile, preserved the lead for the time being when he thwarted a Kings’ 2-on-1 attempt with a little more than 8 minutes to play in the middle frame.
