Corey Perry reaches Gordie Howe territory with a goal against the Penguins

The Los Angeles Kings opened a six-game road trip with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh struck first midway through the opening period. After winning a faceoff in the offensive zone, Evgeni Malkin broke free and passed to defender Parker Wotherspoon, who fed Tommy Novak in the slot. Novak buried his second goal of the season and gave the Penguins a 1:0 lead.

The Kings responded later in the period with a power play goal, making it their third straight game with a lead. Kevin Fiala battled up the boards and flipped the puck to Anze Kopitar, whose cross-court pass deflected off Wotherspoon into the net, tying the game at 1.

The Penguins regained the lead at the end of their first power play, as Anthony Manta took advantage of a turnover and scored from the left circle to make it 2-1.

Early in the third period, the Kings tied the score thanks to forward Corey Perry. After Trevor Moore carried the puck to the offensive blue line, he passed to Cody Sessions, who then set up Perry in the high post. From there, Perry beat rookie goalie Sergey Murashov on the blocker side for his seventh goal of the season, tying the contest 2-2.

With seven goals in his first 10 games, Perry became the first NHL player 40 or older to reach that sum since NHL legend Gordie Howe scored seven in 1969-70. Perry now has 11 points (4-7=11) in 10 games this season, the most ever by a 40-year-old in his first 10 appearances with the franchise, surpassing Joe Thornton’s pace with Toronto in 2021.

In the end, Fiala won it for the Kings with a great individual effort at 8:08 of the third period. First, he maneuvered past Erik Karlsson and lifted the puck over Murashov for his 500th NHL point, finishing the game with a goal and an assist. As a result, the 29-year-old Swiss winger now has 218 goals and 282 assists in 667 NHL games with Nashville, Minnesota and Los Angeles. Moreover, Fiala’s goal tied him with Perry for the team lead in goals.

Kopitar also scored for the Kings, and goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper stopped 31 shots. With the win, Los Angeles improved to 7-5-4, ending a three-of-four game losing streak. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, fell to 9-5-3 and will head to Sweden for a pair of games against Nashville.

The Kings are scheduled to practice Monday in Montreal ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Canadiens.