Pittsburgh @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2019 ) Los Angeles 4, Pittsburgh 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins added more experienced depth up front at the trade deadline Monday and look to snap a three-game losing streak when they begin a tour of California on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Kings. The Penguins, who also visit Anaheim and San Jose later in the week, picked up future Hall of Famer Patrick Marleau among three forwards in two deals.

Pittsburgh made a deal earlier in the month with Minnesota for forward Jason Zucker, who has five points in seven games, and brought in the 40-year-old Marleau (561 career goals) from San Jose while also reacquiring Conor Sheary and adding Evan Rodrigues from Buffalo. “The top three lines were probably playing a little bit more than they should,” Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford told reporters. “(We’re) trying to get their minutes down so that we can come and come hard, shift after shift, with four lines. That’s what we should be able to do after we made those changes.” While the Penguins entered Tuesday two points behind Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division, Los Angeles is looking to next season with the second-worst record in the league after falling 4-2 to Edmonton at home on Sunday. Captain Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 56 points after collecting a goal and eight assists with a plus-5 rating in his last six contests.

TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBC Sports Network

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (37-18-6): Leading scorer Evgeni Malkin (21 goals, 62 points) is slated to play his 900th NHL game Wednesday after scoring three times in the last two contests. Marleau, who had 10 goals and 10 assists in 58 games for San Jose this season, did not have a point in his last eight outings but Rutherford told reporters: “He can still really skate, and as you get older that’s important for you. He should be a good fit for us.” Rutherford did not address his blue line Monday, but could have two big additions soon as top-pair defenseman Brian Dumoulin (ankle) and rookie John Marino (face) are close to returning.

ABOUT THE KINGS (22-35-6): Forward Alex Iafallo is a distant second behind Kopitar’s lead on the team’s scoring list with 37 points and defenseman Drew Doughty is the only other player with at least 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists). Dustin Brown boasts three goals in the last four games to boost his season total to 13 and fellow forward Adrian Kempe recorded four assists in his past three outings with a plus-3 rating to move within one of 100 career points. Veteran Jonathan Quick is 2-0-1 with six goals against in his last three games between the pipes while rookie Cal Peterson is 1-3-0 (14 goals allowed) since being called up.

OVERTIME

1. Los Angeles dealt impending unrestricted free agent D Derek Forbort to Calgary on Monday for a conditional draft pick.

2. Pittsburgh C Sidney Crosby (12 points in the last eight games) had a goal in Sunday’s 5-3 loss at Washington and is two shy of 800 career assists.

3. The Penguins won the first meeting 5-4 in a shootout Dec. 14 and is 4-1-3 in the last six games against the Kings.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Kings 1