National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 3, Los Angeles 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Michael Markovic
Linesmen: Ben O'Quinn, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 15011

Rickard Rakell scored on a wrist shot from the right point at 1:44 of overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Rakell also had an assist, Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk added goals and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves for the Penguins, who trailed by a goal with six minutes left.

Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte scored, Vladislav Gavrikov contributed two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the Kings, who have dropped two of three following a six-game winning streak.

Kempe scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season 33 seconds into the game to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.

Anze Kopitar brought the puck behind the Pittsburgh net before passing to Kempe in front of the crease and he scored on a one-timer.

Kempe has eight goals in the past four games against Pittsburgh. He combined for three goals in two games against the Penguins last season and scored a career-high four goals in a 6-0 win against Pittsburgh on Feb. 11, 2023.

The Penguins tied it 1-1 at 6:22 of the second period after Michael Bunting and Malkin sprung loose on a 2-on-1 break.

Bunting, who was playing in his 300th NHL game, slid a late pass to Malkin and the puck went under Kuemper's pads and off the far post. Malkin appeared to slightly deflect the puck before it went off Kuemper's skate and was redirected across the goal line.

Los Angeles moved back ahead 2-1 at 11:38 of the second period.

Gavrikov cleared the puck from his own slot and it went off the boards near the red line. Turcotte beat the Penguins to the puck and raced down the right side, scoring with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the circle.

After getting denied by Kuemper several times in the third period, Grzelcyk got one past him on a wide-open wrist shot from the left circle to tie it 2-2 at 14:25 of the third period.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Pittsburgh
Vladislav Gavrikov 2 Points Rickard Rakell 2
Adrian Kempe 1 Goals Rickard Rakell 1
Vladislav Gavrikov 2 Assists Michael Bunting 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Darcy Kuemper .903 Save Percentage Alex Nedeljkovic .935
Darcy Kuemper 28 Saves Alex Nedeljkovic 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 31 2 0-3 3-3 6 32
Pittsburgh 31 3 0-3 3-3 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Penguins have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .474 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Kings have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .769 after a loss.