LOS ANGELES — For just about all of Saturday night’s game, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was not only good enough for the Penguins to win, but probably deserving of a victory, too.
It took overtime, but eventually, his teammates obliged.
Patric Hornqvist scored the game winner 1:44 into overtime, as the Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 1-0, for their second win in as many nights in Southern California.
Fleury made 31 saves for his league-leading ninth shutout of the season.
“He played unreal,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “It was one of his best games of the year, especially against a good team like that. [The Kings] are playing well right now, so he was huge.”
The Kings outshot the Penguins 31-18 on the night, but Fleury stopped everything that came his way.
“They were buzzing, they kept coming and the crowd was getting into it, too,” he said. “I think it was good, though, nobody panicked. We all stayed patient in our system and didn’t do anything stupid. Everything worked out well.”
Game: Penguins at San Jose Sharks, SAP Center in final game of western road trip, San Jose, Calif.
When: 10:08 p.m. Monday.
TV: Root Sports.
He withstood an impressive attack from the Kings midway through the third period, as the momentum started to swing heavily in favor of the home team. Fleury, though, stood tall and kept the game scoreless to allow for Hornqvist’s winner in the extra session.
Hornqvist scored on a shot from the low slot, off a turnover forced by defenseman Paul Martin in the corner.
“The puck just came to me, I shot it as fast as I could and I’m glad to see it went in,” Hornqvist said.
The two goalies stole the show for most of the night, though as Jonathan Quick matched Fleury save for save, although he wasn't quite as busy.
The Kings outshot the Penguins 22-11 in the first two periods, but couldn’t crack Fleury, who looked sharp and well-rested after having the night off Friday, when Thomas Greiss started in net for the Penguins’ 5-2 win in Anaheim.
The early shot totals might not have been very flattering for the Penguins, but they did keep pace with the defending Stanley Cup champions and generated a few scoring chances early on.
“I think it was kind of a playoff style game, not many chances on both sides,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said.
Eventually, the tired legs of back-to-back games started to take their toll, as the Kings appeared to seize some momentum late in the third period.
“We tried to play four lines as much as we could outside of special teams just to make sure that we had enough energy to last through the whole game,” Penguins coach Mike Johnston said.
Despite any tired legs, the Penguins weren’t shy about standing up to the Kings’ physicality over the course of the night. They had 36 hits on the night to the Kings’ 37, and while Johnston said that’s not exactly how he wants his team to play, he liked the physical nature.
“[The Kings are a physical team, they do finish their checks,” he said. “That’s their game. We have to fight through, we have to roll off checks. That’s more of our mindset going into the game tonight. We really had to have that second battle after the hit.”
The win moves the Penguins up into a tie with the Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams trail the Islanders by three points in the standings.
The Penguins are off today as they travel to San Jose, where they will face off against the Sharks Monday night.
First Published: March 8, 2015, 6:44 a.m.
