Penguins Fall To Kings 6-0 On Dustin Brown Retirement Night

Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the Los Angeles Kings last night 6-0 at Crypto.com Arena in LA. 

Forward Adrian Kempe scored four straight goals for the Kings and became the first player since forward Dustin Brown, who had his jersey retired in pre-game, and a statue of his honor unveiled, did on April 5th, 2018, against the Minnesota Wild. Forward Anze Kopitar also had three assists for the Kings, who improved to 29-18-7. Goalie Phoenix Copley had a 25-save shutout, his first since December 22nd, 2018, when he was a member of the Washington Capitals. He is also 16-3-1 and has tied his career high in wins, which he set with the Caps in 2018-19. 

Goalie Casey DeSmith allowed three goals on the first 15 shots before he was pulled for Dustin Takorski, who made 13 saves in relief. The Penguins fell to 26-17-9 and were on their second stint of a back-to-back. 

Just over two minutes into the first period, forward Janet Anderson-Dolan re-deflected a shot past DeSmith to give the Kings the 1-0 lead. At 17:47, forward Alex Iafallo made it 2-0 Kings with a quick shot beating DeSmith. 

Just under two minutes into the second, Kempe scored his first after putting a shot off the post and in, making it 3-0 Kings. Just five minutes into the second, Kempe got his second after he beat Tokarski blocker-side to make it 4-0 Kings. At 14:27, Kempe then scored on the power play to give him the natural hat trick and the 5-0 lead for the Kings. He became the first Kings player to score three goals in one period since once again Dustin Brown did it on March 7th, 2020, once again against the Wild. 

At 15:09 of the third, Kempe scored as a 5-on-3 was expiring to give him his fourth goal of the game and gave the Kings a 6-0 lead. Kempe became the seventh player in the past 30 years to score four straight goals. Forwards David Backes, Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Patrik Elias Wendel Clark, and Peter Bondra have done it previously. 

Kings forwards Kevin Fiala and Rasmus Kupari, as well as defenseman Drew Doughty, each had two assists. 

Stanley Cup Aspirations Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Stanley Cup Aspirations
  2. The Final Countdown
  3. Here Come the Playoffs
  4. Home Stretch
  5. Kevy Cooks

Nik Shermeto

PT ‘23 | 🇺🇸/🇨🇦 | Penguins writer for Inside The Rink | Thoughts are my own.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry shows off the Winnipeg Jets 1948 RCAF jersey, a special alternate jersey for the 2023-24 season in honour of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Centennial. PHOTO BY HANDOUT/TRUE NORTH SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT (Credit: Winnipeg Sun & True North Sports + Entertainment)

Jets Pay Tribute To Royal Canadian Armed Forces With New Specialty Uniforms

The Winnipeg Jets kicked off their 2023-24 season with a three-game stint in the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C. The showcase of prospects was underwhelming, but the Jets’ prospects and current NHL players showed tons of promise during the opening days of training camp. The team rocked their old uniforms and practice jerseys leading […]

Read More
APMedia Photo/Paul Vernon

Preseason Game One Three Stars: Leafs (2) Senators (3)

Hockey is back, baby! The Leafs and Senators opened their preseason in an afternoon tilt in the Nation’s Capital. The Sens chose to ice their (likely) opening night top line in this one, while the Leafs elected to ice a more inexperienced team. Here are the three stars from today’s afternoon matinee:  First Star – […]

Read More

OPINION: Minnesota Wild Alternate Jerseys Are Okay

The Minnesota Wild revealed their new alternate jersey yesterday, and, as was heavily speculated, they are based on old North Stars jerseys. While getting jerseys with a new color scheme is fun, they’ve been heavily panned by fans who want to cut ties with the North Stars past. So how are the jerseys? The Good […]

Read More