Fiala breaks tie in 3rd, gets assist to help Kings rally past Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Kevin Fiala broke a tie midway through the third period and had an assist, helping the Los Angeles Kings rally for a 3-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Fiala put Los Angeles ahead 3-2 at 11:52, stickhandling around Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson and shooting over a sprawling Sergei Murashov. It was his 500th point in the NHL.

The winning goal came after Corey Perry tied it 2-2 at 4:49 with a wrist shot at the high slot off a drop pass from Cody Ceci.

“It was an important win,” Fiala said. “Great character. We started a little bit slow, got better and better, and in the third period, we took over. ... I felt really good, to be honest. Honestly, I came into the game and I just, like, had fun, you know? I tried to feel the puck again, make plays, don’t overthink. Sometimes, slow the game down. It worked today. So, it was great.”

Perry also had an assist, and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings (7-5-4), who had lost three of four (1-2-1). Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves for Los Angeles, which is 6-1-2 on the road and 1-4-2 at home.

“Last year, we couldn’t lose at home, didn’t win a lot on the road,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “This year, it’s just different. It’s just hockey. Sometimes, it’s hard to explain.

"We wanted that one. We were in and out for the first 40 minutes. I didn’t think we gave them a lot."

Murashov made 24 saves in his NHL debut, and Tommy Novak and Anthony Mantha scored for the Penguins (9-5-3), who have lost four of five (1-3-1), including a 2-1 shootout loss at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

“No. 1, like, we need to win games,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “We need points. ... There’s clearly still room for improvement there. The last two games, no points tonight, one point yesterday. So, it’s going to be about (that) we need to get points."

Novak gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 8:48 of the first period, finishing a backhand pass from Evgeni Malkin just above the crease.

Kopitar tied it 1-1 on the power play at 14:58, a wrist shot from a sharp angle at the near wall and in off the inside of Murashov’s left pad.

Mantha scored with four seconds remaining on the power play to put Pittsburgh back ahead 2-1 at 7:48 of the second period. After tapping the puck between his legs to Kris Letang at the point, he took a return pass for a wrist shot from the slot.

“We really had to decide after two (periods)," Hiller said, "we’re down by one on the road, if we had the energy to come out and really go for it. That’s what happened.”

Pittsburgh has surrendered leads in three of four games. It allowed three straight goals after going up 3-0 in both a 4-3 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday and a 5-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

“It’s disappointing,” Novak said. “But that’s hockey. Sometimes, I think we probably came up with some points that maybe the other team was thinking the same thing. So, just stick with it and try to just build a game where we play a full 60 (minutes). So, yeah, just stay with it and keep learning and getting better.”

Murashov, the American Hockey League goalie of the month for October, was 5-2-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in seven games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being recalled to Pittsburgh on Nov. 4.

“Obviously, it’s not the result I wanted, we wanted,” Murashov said. “Yes, it’s a special night for me, but at the end of the day, all I want is to just get two points for our team. It’s a good lesson. We’ll learn from it and keep getting stronger.”

NOTES: Fiala is the second Switzerland-born player in NHL history to reach 500 points, joining Roman Josi (729 points). ... Kings forward Warren Foegele had one shot on goal in 11:14 of ice time in his return after missing five games with an upper-body injury. ... Malkin, at age 39 in his 20th NHL season, has 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) while recording at least one point in 14 of 17 games. He had an assist on an opening goal for the 145th time, passing Patrick Kane (144) for the third most among active skaters behind Sidney Crosby (167) and Kopitar (165).