Penguins 4, Kings 3 (OT)

The Kings came out hopping, taking a quick 1-0 lead. The Pens, to their credit, responded in kind, picking up their intensity and work ethic. They scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. This is all I actually saw of the game until this morning, seeing how it was past my bedtime :)

The Kings were in the lead, 3-2, when Noah Welch got his first goal of the season on a shot that deflected ever so slightly off of the defender's skate and past Cloutier.

In OT, Gonchar's shot hit a defender and came right to the skate of Malkin, who buried the puck in the near side of the net. Cloutier had no chance.

A few notes:

• The Pens were out shot, but at least limited the Kings to 27 shots. That's an improvement over the general trend.
• I know this is one of my pet peeves, but how is Malkin not the #1 star for the night? He scored twice, including the game winner in OT! The totally unbiased media in LA chose Dustin Brown from the Kings as the #1 star, and to make matters worse, Malkin wasn't any of the three stars. It's inexplicable.
• Everyone continues to play decent minutes. Only Thorburn and Ruutu played under 10:00. If Cairns returns to the lineup, that will change.

This is another example of a game the Pens would have lost last year, either in regulation or in OT. I think they would have folded once the Kings took the lead in the second period, or given up a crappy OT goal. This season continues to be a different story, however, and the Pens have moved to 7-3. They are now 4-0 on the road (WOW!) and, say it with me, in sole possession of first place in the division. Let's hope this continues (though I would expect them to lose at least one of the next two games).