Pittsburgh’s problem against Boston wasn’t simply that six shots went in. The Penguins repeatedly gave up the kind of chances that leave a goalie exposed: odd-man rushes, a partial breakaway and a turnover in their own zone. Saturday’s visit to Los Angeles asks whether they can repair those mistakes against a Kings team coming off a seven-goal win.
The chances matter as much as the saves
AP reported that Boston scored three times on 2-on-1 rushes in Thursday’s 6–2 win. A bad Pittsburgh line change led to another goal on a partial breakaway, while an Erik Karlsson giveaway preceded a fifth. Arturs Silovs stopped 18 shots as the Penguins lost their fourth straight.
That makes this a team-defense question before it becomes a verdict on one goalie. Silovs is the projected starter for Saturday, though he isn’t confirmed. Our goalie logs put his save percentage at .888 over his five most recent appearances, all starts. The sample includes a shutout as well as the six-goal Boston game, so it doesn’t describe one uninterrupted level of performance.
The practical test for Pittsburgh is whether it can stop handing opponents clean paths toward the net. A better save percentage would help, but asking the goalie to erase repeated breakdowns is a fragile way to end a losing streak.
Los Angeles has a burst to build on
AP reported that Adrian Kempe finished Wednesday’s 7–2 win over San Jose with three goals and an assist. Quinton Byfield scored twice and Artemi Panarin had four assists, while the Kings converted three of five power plays.
Pittsburgh has to address both the open-ice mistakes Boston exploited and the danger of giving LA chances with the man advantage. Kempe and Byfield supplied finishing while Panarin helped create goals. Penalties would give that group another route to scoring even if the Penguins tighten up at even strength.
The team grades offer a counterweight. Los Angeles carries a D+ for offense and a B+ for defense, compared with Pittsburgh’s B offense and C defense. That puts Pittsburgh’s B offense against LA’s B+ defense at the other end, while raising the question of whether the Kings can sustain Wednesday’s scoring. Their seven-goal night offers encouragement without making that output a new baseline.
The projected goalie matchup has Anton Forsberg in net for Los Angeles, also awaiting confirmation. His five most recent appearances—all in October—produced a .924 save percentage across four starts and one relief outing. That is the stronger of the two samples by save percentage; it also belongs to a different span of games and is no guarantee for Saturday.
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A favorite with its own questions
DraftKings’ moneyline lists Los Angeles at -130 and Pittsburgh at +110, with a total of 6.5 in Saturday morning’s snapshot. The Penguins have just two wins in their last ten games, compared with five for the Kings. Pittsburgh’s struggles help explain the home favorite’s appeal, but LA still needs to turn its latest offensive success into something more consistent.
The total has competing histories: ten of Pittsburgh’s 16 games have gone over this season, while eight of Los Angeles’ 14 have gone under. Pittsburgh’s defensive breakdowns and the Kings’ latest power-play performance explain why scoring deserves attention, but Forsberg’s recent sample and Los Angeles’ broader offensive grade complicate an automatic repeat of Wednesday’s fireworks.
Sharpest Bets gives the side two stars and the total one. The most useful thing to watch is how LA creates its chances. If Pittsburgh forces the Kings to build attacks without rushes and giveaways doing the work, that will test whether Wednesday’s production can last. If those breakdowns continue, the Penguins will again be asking a great deal of their goalie.
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