PREVIEW: Kings v Pens

The LA Kings face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in their third of nine straight games away from STAPLES Center.
With a victory over the Detroit Red Wings last night, the Kings improved to 1-1-0 during this extended road trip. After a disappointing opening in Buffalo, the Kings rebounded to play one of the their most dominant games of the season.
In the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, the Kings find rival with a familiar history (
as detailed earlier this season
). The success and construction of both teams have made them flagship franchises in the modern NHL and are a template for success for the rest of the league.

Here's a quick look at the history of the Kings in Pittsburgh followed by a comparison of how the teams were built.
LA Kings vs Pittsburgh Penguins
First Game in Pittsburgh
October 28th, 1967
LAK 5 - PIT 3

Most Recent Matchup vs. Penguins in Pittsburgh
December 11th, 2015
LAK 3 - PIT 2 (SO)
Watch: Youtube Video
All-Time Record vs. Penguins
74-59-18-4
527 Goals For - 484 Goals Allowed
All-Time Record against Penguins at PPG Paints Arena
2-1-0-1
7 Goals For - 9 Goals Allowed
Kings Leading Scorers vs. Penguins
Jeff Carter
- 33 points (16-17=33) in 45 games
Marian Gaborik - 24 points (10-14=24) in 33 games
Penguins Leading Scorers vs. Kings
Matt Cullen - 25 points (7-18=25) in 40 games
Patric Hornqvist - 18 points (9-9=18) in 23 games
Familiar Faces
Jeff Zatkoff
Watch: Youtube Video
LA Kings Leading Scorer
Jeff Carter
- 24 points (14-10=24) in 29 games
Pittsburgh Penguins Leading Scorer
Sidney Crosby - 33 points (21-12=33) in 24 games
2002 - 2004: THE BEGINNING
The Penguins and Kings both struggled with injuries to key players during the first half of the decade to start the new millenium. The Penguins began rebuilding a few seasons before the Kings, and doing so enabled them to draft Ray Whitney (No. 5 overall in 2002), Marc-Andre Fleury (No. 1 overall in 2003) and Evgeni Malkin (No. 2 overall in 2004). This gave them a goalie, defenseman and center to build around as well as multiple depth players that would help in the coming seasons. While the Kings didn't have any Top 10 draft picks in this period, they did have three first round selections in the 2003 draft, where they selected Dustin Brown with the No. 13 pick.

2005: THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft is where both franchises took huge steps forward. Both taken in the first round, Sidney Crosby (No. 1 overall, 971 career points) and Anze Kopitar (No. 11 overall, 699 career points) are the highest and second highest scoring players taken in the 2005 NHL Draft. The next highest player is Paul Stastny with just 569 points. If each team had only acquired a franchise center and future captain in this draft that would have been noteworthy enough, but, in the third round of that draft, the Penguins selected All-Star defenseman Kris Letang and the Kings drafted Conn Smythe-winning goaltender Jonathan Quick.

2006-2009: Building Depth
With a head start on rebuilding, the Penguins began rounding into championship form through trades and free agency following the 2006 draft, where they selected Jordan Staal with the No. 2 overall pick. It was also the first draft overseen by Kings GM Dean Lombardi, in which he selected future Stanley Cup winners Trevor Lewis, Jonathan Bernier and Jeff Zatkoff. Coincidentally, the Penguins selected Jake Muzzin in the 2007 draft. That same year the Kings drafted Wayne Simmonds, Dwight King and Alec Martinez.
In 2008, the Kings found their franchise defenseman in Drew Doughty (No. 2 overall). The Penguins drafting success faded, but they managed back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals against the Red Wings in 2008 and 2009, winning the latter.
The Kings continued to draft well and turned their success into three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances and two Stanley Cup victories. Like the Penguins before them, the Kings made trades and other decisions that failed to deliver never ending Stanley Cup parades.
But the recent return of the Penguins to the top of the NHL hierarchy, seven years after their previous title, should give Kings fans hope that as long as you have a solid core, strong leadership, and creative management, then a franchise can return to glory.