3 takeaways from the LA Kings third-period loss to Pittsburgh

New Los Angeles Kings (1-3-1) defenseman Brian Dumoulin faced his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-0), at the kick-off of a homestand for two games against foes from the East from the Metropolitan Division tonight at Crypto Arena.

Penguins top Anton Forsberg and the Los Angeles Kings in a comeback loss at Crypto Arena on Oct. 16

Head coach Jim Hiller and the Kings had their most aggressive offensive start to the opening frame in the first period this fall in the regular season tonight against Pittsburgh at Crypto.

The Kings set the tone early in the first period to open up this homestand vs. the Penguins tonight at home, with Warren Foegele scoring his first goal of the season to break the ice and the tie on the scoreboard.

Kevin Fiala doubled the Kings' lead in a span of under five minutes in the opening frame in the first period. He scored on a nice tic-tac-toe play for a goal in front of the net against Silovs and the Penguins to extend the lead on the scoreboard to 2-0 in the first.

Penalty issues opened the door for the Penguins to get back into the game on the scoreboard in the middle frame. Quinton Byfield took a hooking penalty in the middle of the second period, which was the Kings' first opportunity with special teams on the penalty kill tonight.

Evgeni Malkin slid one past Anton Forsberg that the Kings goalie probably wants back. Not even one minutes later for Pittsburgh, the Penguins evened up the game on the scoreboard on a bad goal that Forsberg let in by Connor Dewar.

The Penguins kept piling on the Kings early in the third period to break the tie again on the scoreboard. Filip Hallander sneaked one past Forsberg on the near post to give the Pens their first lead of the game in the final frame in the third period.

There were some good opportunities down the stretch from the Kings tonight against Pittsburgh, but they couldn't get the puck past Silovs when it mattered in clutch time in the final frame.

Here are three takeaways from the Kings' 4-2 comeback loss to the Penguins at home on Oct. 16.

Warren Foegele jolts the Kings' offense with his first goal of the season

Just less than five minutes into the first period tonight, Foegele netted his first goal of the season for the Kings around the crease to break the tie on the scoreboard.

Foegele has been great at generating scoring chances for the Kings this fall early in the regular season. Tonight, in the first period, Foegele was the only Kings' player who generated multiple high-danger scoring chances in front of the net in front of Silovs (per Natural Stat Trick).

By the time the scoreboard showed zeroes at the end of the game tonight, Foegele led both teams with a game-high five high-danger scoring chances, including one in the final 10 minutes of the third period vs. Pittsburgh.

Joel Armia has been a great fit with the Kings

The best new signing for the Kings among the veterans Ken Holland and the front office signed during the offseason in the summer is winger Joel Armia.

Armia got to work in the neutral zone to help the Kings generate a turnover, which resulted in the game's second goal in the middle of the first period by Fiala in front of the net. He got the secondary assist on the goal scored by Fiala in the opening frame.

In just five games with the Kings this fall early in the regular season, Armia already has three assists and three total points for LA.

Offense dries up when it matters

HIller and the Kings have struggled to play full 60-minute games early this regular season this fall. The Kings got off on the right foot tonight, taking a 2-0 shutout lead into the locker room at the end of the first period.

The same issue that's faced the Kings for the early part of the regular season this fall, taking too many penalties and letting in untimely goals in the second and third periods in clutch time, hurt the team again tonight.

The Kings also probably needed some timely saves from Forsberg in net in the second and third period tonight. Forsberg played better down the stretch in the third period, stopping a half-dozen shots from the Penguins in the game's final 10 minutes.

Kempe and the Kings caught the post three times either when LA had the team or the game was tied on the scoreboard. The combination of bad breaks and the team not getting as many chances as it needed in clutch time in the third period in the offensive zone doomed the Kings tonight.