{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Los Angeles 3, Pittsburgh 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 3, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Tom Kowal, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Trent Knorr
Attendance: 18230

LOS ANGELES -- It's either feast or famine for the Los Angeles Kings.

Nic Dowd scored the game-winning goal at 2:37 of overtime, and the Kings ended their three-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at Staples Center.

The Kings (5-6-0) have earned all of their wins in overtime while all of their losses have occurred in regulation. The win resulted in Kings coach Darryl Sutter getting his 600th career win, becoming the 14th NHL to achieve the feat.

For Dowd, it was his first goal in an extra period and his second of the season. Dowd received a pass from Tanner Pearson about 10 feet in front of the net, then deked goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury before going left and dropping the puck into the net.

"Nothing special. I just made a move and luckily that side was open," Dowd said. "Maybe the other 50 percent of the time maybe he's there. I just pulled it to my backhand after waiting for a little bit and luckily it was open."

Alec Martinez had two assists for the Kings, giving him a club-high nine points.

Penguins star Sidney Crosby tied the score at 2 with his second goal of the game at 9:28 of the third period. Crosby deflected a shot past goaltender Peter Budaj after receiving a pass just outside the crease from Kris Letang. Letang finished with two assists.

"You try to go to the front and hope no one is able to get a stick or box you out," Crosby said. "Letang made a good play, kept his head up, looked for the stick."

For Crosby, it was his sixth goal of the season. He has scored in four of the five games he's played after missing the first six with a concussion.

"We marvel at him sometimes with how good he is," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He is a threat on most every shift while playing on both ends of the rink. He's playing inspiring hockey right now."

Budaj recorded 21 saves for the Kings.

Fleury stopped 24 of 27 shots for the Penguins (7-2-2), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Fleury is 4-1-2 against the Kings in his last seven starts.

Matt Greene gave the Kings a 2-1 edge with a goal at 2:14 of the third period. Greene scored after gathering the puck near the blue line following a faceoff between Kings center Jeff Carter and Penguins center Matt Cullen and smoking it past Fleury for his first goal and point of the season.

"I just get the puck and shoot," Greene said. "That's it. There's really no rhyme or reason to it, just try to shoot the puck as hard as you can at the net every time."

Crosby put the Penguins on the board in the first period, cashing in a rebound for a 1-0 lead at 7:28.

In the second period, the Kings ended their scoring drought at 5:23 when Trevor Lewis scored to tie the score at 1 apiece. It was Lewis' first goal of the season and the first by the Kings in four games. Los Angeles went 205 minutes and 25 seconds without a tally before Lewis delivered.

"I don't think there were a whole lot of chances on either side," Sullivan said. "It was one of those games where you had to fight for every inch of ice to try to get pucks to go in or try to get quality chances. As I said, I was pleased that our guys found a way to grab a point."

Pittsburgh was playing the second end of a back-to-back. The Penguins cruised to a 5-1 romp over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

NOTES: Penguins C Sidney Crosby has now recorded points in 25 of 26 games, including the last 13 dating back to last season. ... The Kings recalled D Kevin Gravel from AHL Ontario to replace D Tom Gilbert, who served the first of a three-game suspension for boarding Anaheim LW Nick Ritchie in Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Ducks. ... Kings D Drew Doughty passed Mark Hardy for 10th on the Kings' all-time list of games played and moved into third among defensemen. ... D Matt Greene passed Steve Duchesne for 10th among Kings defensemen all-time. ... Pittsburgh scratched D David Warsofsky, RW Tom Kuhnhackl and LW Conor Sheary. C Jordan Nolan was unavailable for Los Angeles. ... Both teams resume play Saturday. The Penguins cap their four-game swing at the San Jose Sharks. The Kings host the Calgary Flames.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Los Angeles
Sidney Crosby 2 Points Alec Martinez 2
Sidney Crosby 2 Goals Nic Dowd 1
Kris Letang 2 Assists Alec Martinez 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .889 Save Percentage Peter Budaj .913
Marc-Andre Fleury 24 Saves Peter Budaj 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 23 2 0-3 3-3 6 28
Los Angeles 27 3 0-3 3-3 6 42
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Kings have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .286 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Penguins have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .750 after a loss.