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Kings kill Penguins’ perfect road record

The Los Angeles Kings rallied from a goal down to score four times in the third period and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Thursday.

Anze Kopitar, the NHL’s leading points scorer, opened the scoring in the first minute and then tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period.

The Penguins (12-4-0), coming into the game a perfect 7-0-0 on the road, took a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz.

However, in an explosive third period, the Kings (10-4-2) scored four times through Kopitar, Jarret Stoll, Michal Handzus and Dustin Brown to pull away from last season’s Stanley Cup champions.

The Penguins were making a run at the league record of 10 road wins to start a season, accomplished by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006-2007 campaign.

“We knew they were coming in [with a perfect road record] and we wanted to make it hard on them,” Kopitar told reporters. “It took us 60 minutes, but the bottom line is we got the two points.

Pittsburgh looked solid with the 2-1 lead at the start of the third period before the Kings let loose.

Kopitar made it 2-2 at 6:17 and Stoll put the Kings ahead with a wrister at 12:09. Handzus followed up with a goal 23 seconds later before Brown capped the scoring at 17:30.

“It wasn’t even a full period, it was 13 minutes. They played better for that span,” the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby said after going pointless for the third game in a row. “Tonight we did some good things with the power play and had chances but the puck didn’t go in.”

The Eastern Conference-­leading Penguins are still without center Evgeni Malkin, who has an injured shoulder.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings, who are on a 6-0-2 run, their best in nine years.

CANADIENS 2, BRUINS 1

Patrice Bergeron scored with 52 seconds left in regulation to help the Bruins avoid a historic third straight shutout, before Michael Cammalleri scored in the shootout to give the Montreal Canadiens victory over Boston on Thursday.

Boston had not scored in 192 minutes, 6 seconds, dating to Vladimir Sobotka’s goal at 7:02 of the third period against Edmonton on Saturday. The Bruins had not been shut out in three straight games since they scored just once over five games from Feb. 2 to Feb. 14, 1929.

In the 700th game between the archrivals, Carey Price stopped 42 Boston shots for his first win in more than a month.

BLUE JACKETS 4, THRASHERS 3

At Atlanta, Georgia, Raffi Torres scored two second-period goals as the Columbus Blue Jackets held off Atlanta.

The Thrashers, coming off road wins at Ottawa and Montreal, lost for the fourth time in five home games.

The Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead in the first period when Jakub Voracek and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist and Columbus never trailed.

Red Wings 2, Sharks 1, SO

At Detroit, Michigan, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings snapped San Jose’s six-game winning streak.

Zetterberg also had a goal in regulation and Chris Osgood made 33 saves for Detroit.

CANUCKS 5, WILD 2

At St Paul, Minnesota, Darcy Hordichuk and newly signed Matt Pettinger each scored their first goals of the season, forming an unlikely pair to lead short-handed Vancouver past Minnesota.

Hordichuk scored his first goal in 50 games. Pettinger was signed off the street on Monday to bolster a depleted roster.

Mason Raymond and Henrik Sedin also scored for the Canucks, who have won three in a row despite missing seven players with injuries.

Alex Burrows added an empty-net goal.

Kyle Brodziak scored twice for the Wild. Niklas Backstrom gave up four goals on 17 shots and was pulled by new Wild coach Todd Richards for the first time.

Vancouver’s Andrew Raycroft made 28 saves.

In other NHL action, it was:

• Senators 3, Lightning 2, OT

• Coyotes 3, Blackhawks 1

• Flames 2, Blues 1, OT

• Rangers 4, Oilers 2

• Ducks 4, Predators 0
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