Rakell OT winner, Nedeljkovic’s 29 saves and more: 3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins won 3-2 in OT against LA Kings

NHL: Los Angeles Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins - Source: Imagn
Rakell OT winner, Nedeljkovic’s 29 saves, and more: 3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins won 3-2 in OT against LA Kings - Source: Imagn

The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled out a thrilling 3-2 win in overtime against the LA Kings on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

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The Penguins came from behind to take the two points on home ice. Evgeni Malkin, Matt Grzelcyk and Rickard Rakell had the goals for the Pens. Meanwhile, Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte had the tallies for the Kings.

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Here’s a closer look at three reasons why Pittsburgh won in overtime against LA on Tuesday.

3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins won 3-2 in overtime against LA Kings

#3. Strong penalty kill

The Pittsburgh Penguins managed to kill off all three Kings’ power play opportunities. The perfect penalty kill bodes well as the Pens entered the game with the ninth-best penalty kill rate in the league at 81.7%.

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While the Pens failed to score on the power play, going 0-for-3, the penalty kill made up for the lack of scoring with the man advantage.

Overall, the Penguins’ special teams have been solid all season long. But it was the 5-on-5 scoring that made the difference, allowing the Penguins to pull off a comeback win.

#2. Nedeljkovic's strong start

Pittsburgh's netminder Alex Nedeljkovic had a strong start, stopping 29 of 31 shots for the win. Even though the shots were even at 31 apiece, Nedeljkovic’s performance was crucial in helping the Penguins come from behind.

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Overall, Nedeljkovic has won three of his last five outings. During that span, Nedeljkovic has been solid. The only blemish was a six-goal pounding at the hands of the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 23. Since then, Nedeljkovic has been a solid backup for Tristan Jarry.

Moving forward, it seems the Penguins have a solid tandem in Jarry and Nedeljkovic, allowing the team to string together a solid 7-2-1 run in its last 10 games.

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#1. Rakell’s game-winner

Rickard Rakell ended the game at 1:44 of overtime after redirecting a point shot past Darcy Kuemper. Erik Karlsson and Michael Bunting assisted on the beautiful tally. Bunting finished the game with two assists.

The goal, however, is an encouraging sign as the Penguins’ big guns showed up when the team needed it the most.

Rakell ended the game with two points (1G, 1A), Making scored to tie the game at one, with Sidney Crosby assisting on Grzelcyk’s tying goal in the third period.

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Rakell got the game’s first star with Grzelcyk earning the second star.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t have much time to savor their victory over the Kings as they face off against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.

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Edited by Veer Badani
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