The Pittsburgh Penguins were ailing as they flew west for a three-game road trip. They had lost four straight games, including an embarrassing home defeat Thursday.

But the California air seemed to lift their spirits. The Penguins rode two goals each from Tommy Novak and Sidney Crosby to a 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

Rookie goalie Sergei Murashov picked up his first win of the season. He was sharp, as the Kings racked up a significant shots advantage.

And Crosby continued his march up the NHL’s all-time scoring list, moving past Marcel Dionne for sole possession of sixth place with a late second-period goal. Crosby added an empty-netter to seal it.

Declan Carlile’s recent struggles have been no secret. But he helped the Penguins tally the opening goal with a fantastic first shift. He pinched along the boards to keep the puck in the Kings’ zone. Moments later, he took a pass from Kris Letang and fired a shot on net.

Darcy Kuemper stopped it, but Novak collected the rebound and wired it past the Los Angeles netminder.

And it didn’t take long for Novak to strike again. He carried the puck into the zone and tapped it off the boards to a trailing Ben Kindel. The Penguins youngster drove the net and fired a shot at Kuemper. Novak again pounced on the rebound for his seventh goal of the season.

Carlile nearly put the Penguins in front by three, but his shot on the rush pinged off the post. And shortly after, the Kings cut the deficit in half.

At the end of a long shift in the Penguins’ zone, Mikey Anderson sent a shot off the glass. It popped into the air, and Corey Perry was there to knock it past Murashov.

Los Angeles kept applying pressure and got a power play. Murashov had to make some tough saves to keep the Kings at bay.

And after killing off the penalty, the Penguins took advantage of the league’s worst penalty kill unit. Late in a power play, Egor Chinakhov collected a feed from Ville Koivunen and rifled it in for a 3-1 Pittsburgh lead at the first intermission.

But the Penguins couldn’t hold off the Kings’ second power play. Alex Laferriere’s shot deflected off Kaedan Korczak’s skate and through Murashov to bring the Kings within one.

The action went back-and-forth through the rest of the second period. Hendrix Lapierre had a nearly open net but sent a shot directly to the one place Kuemper had covered. Los Angeles appeared to find an equalizer late in the frame, but Penguins coach Dan Muse successfully challenged for offside on the play.

That proved to be a massive momentum swing, as Pittsburgh moved back ahead by two before the end of the period. Evgeni Malkin unleashed a one-timer off a brilliant Erik Karlsson pass that deflected off Crosby’s body and past Kuemper.

Crosby took a penalty early in the third period. But Southern California native Nick Robertson drew a Kings penalty while shorthanded to limit the danger. Murashov denied Laferriere from point-blank range during the 4-on-4 action.

Around the boards

— Crosby is just 25 points behind Ron Francis for fifth on the NHL all-time points list.

— Malkin moved up to the top line on Crosby’s wing. Novak bumped down to the second line with Kindel and Chinakhov.

— Malkin led the team with three points Saturday, all assists.

— Muse quickly abandoned the Karlsson-Sam Girard experiment in the top pair. Spencer Stastney moved back to the first pair with Karlsson. Girard rejoined Korczak on the second pair.

— Novak is tied for second on the team with 14 points. The three-year extension Kyle Dubas may end up looking like a bargain.

Up next

The Penguins complete a Southern California weekend back-to-back with a road tilt against the Anaheim Ducks at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

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