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Penguins make a stop in LA

Nov 5, 2011 - 3:12 PM (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will close out a three-game road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Kings before a lengthy break.

The Penguins have lost the first two games of this trek and dropped a 4-3 decision in a shootout at San Jose Thursday. Evgeni Malkin netted two goals and added an assist, while Deryk Engelland also scored for the Penguins, who got 34 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury and blew a two-goal lead in the third.

"No matter how many goals you have it's not good enough," said Penguins winger James Neal. "The second you sit back and lay off the pedal they come at you."

The Penguins are 0-9-1 in San Jose since a 5-2 win on October 22, 1997. They will return to the Steel City for their next game on Nov. 11 versus Dallas. Superstar Sidney Crosby hopes to return soon from a concussion suffered last January and is accompanying the team on this road trip.

Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy left in the second period with a broken wrist and is out indefinitely. Center Jordan Staal missed his second straight game because of a lower body injury and is listed as questionable for tonight.

The Pens have dropped two in a row since a season-high five-game winning streak.

Los Angeles will try to put the brakes on a three-game losing streak when they entertain the Penguins tonight. LA dropped a 3-0 decision versus Edmonton on Thursday, as Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for the Kings, who have been blanked by identical 3-0 scores in back-to-back home games.

"We didn't have enough shots, and they blocked a lot of shots," Kings head coach Terry Murray said.

The last time Los Angeles was shut out in consecutive games at home was October 31 - November 1 in 1998. After a trip to San Jose on Nov. 7, Los Angeles will head back home for a four-game residency versus Nashville, Vancouver, Minnesota and Anaheim.

For the 10th time in 12 games, the Kings failed to score more than two goals in regulation. They were shut out for the second time in their last five games and recorded a season-low 19 shots on goal. Quick permitted three goals for a fourth consecutive game after he surrendered a total of five goals in his first six appearances in the crease.

Pittsburgh defeated the Kings, 2-1, in overtime the last time the two clubs squared off on Feb. 10 at Consol Energy Center. Los Angeles is 9-5-1 in the past 15 matchups with the Kings, who have won 13 of the last 17 encounters as the host in this series.