Crosby One Point From History as the Penguins Open Their California Swing in L.A.

The Pittsburgh Penguins open a three-game California swing tonight against the Los Angeles Kings (9 p.m. ET, Crypto.com Arena, SportsNet Pittsburgh / 105.9 The X), and the headline writes itself: Sidney Crosby needs one point to pass Marcel Dionne for sole possession of sixth place on the NHL's all-time scoring list. Crosby sits tied with Dionne at 1,771 career points after a three-point night (1 goal, 2 assists) last Saturday in Montreal. The next name above him is Ron Francis at 1,798. Crosby has made a career of rising to milestone nights, and the Penguins — mired in their second four-game losing streak of a season barely a month old — could use one. The skid, and what's different tonight Pittsburgh is 5-9-2 with 12 points, seventh in the Metropolitan Division, after Thursday's 6-2 home loss to Boston. The Penguins are 2-7-1 over their last 10 games and a dismal 1-6-1 on the road. Only Chicago and Vancouver have fewer standings points heading into Saturday. But the morning skate brought a genuine shake-up: the coaching staff tried Evgeni Malkin on Crosby's wing, with Rickard Rakell completing the top line. Malkin spent his entire career at center until a shoulder injury last season moved him to the wing, where he adjusted well — and the Penguins have kept him there ever since. "I think we're pretty familiar with each other," Crosby said with a smile. "Shouldn't take much time to adjust there." Malkin returned Thursday after missing Tuesday's loss to Vegas with a lower-body injury, logging 16:11 with one shot on goal. He has six goals and 11 points in 13 games this season. Erik Karlsson leads the team with 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) in 16 games, and he owns the Kings historically: 35 points (4 goals, 31 assists) in 39 career games against Los Angeles, the second-most among active defensemen. The hometown kid and the old friend Two Penguins have personal business in Los Angeles tonight. Nick Robertson, born in nearby Pasadena and raised in the greater L.A. area until he was eight, faces his hometown team for the seventh time. Robertson scored his seventh goal of the season Thursday — the most goals in the NHL among players with zero assists — and ranks fifth in goals among players who joined a new team this season. He is also a team-best plus-8 and has been plus or even in 14 of 16 games. Blake Lizotte spent the first six seasons of his career with the Kings organization (2018-24), appearing in 320 regular-season games and recording 106 points. He centers the fourth line tonight between Connor Dewar and Robertson. Pittsburgh has won three straight visits to Los Angeles dating back to Nov. 9, 2023, and three of its last four games against the Kings overall. The Penguins have never won four consecutive games in L.A. The Kings: same record, opposite direction Los Angeles is 5-7-2 with 12 points of its own — seventh in the Pacific — but the Kings are trending up. They opened the season on a six-game losing streak (0-4-2), the last team in the NHL to record its first win, and have since gone 5-3, most recently routing San Jose 7-2 on Wednesday. Adrian Kempe erupted for a hat trick and an assist in his first game back from an illness absence, and Artemi Panarin leads Los Angeles with 17 points (8 goals, 9 assists) in 14 games. The Kings' top line of Panarin, Alex Laferriere and Kempe has combined for more than a third of the team's total production. Brandt Clarke has an assist in four consecutive home games and has 11 points in 14 games. The Kings' weakness remains the penalty kill: last in the NHL at 62.2 percent, and they allowed two power-play goals to San Jose on Wednesday. Their power play, dormant most of the season, went 3-for-5 in that same game. Pittsburgh's power play has fired at just 16 percent during the 2-7-1 stretch — the Kings' kill is the most obvious opening of the night. Injury updates Pittsburgh is still without winger Bryan Rust (lower body, injured reserve, expected back around Dec. 5), forward Elmer Soderblom (upper body, week-to-week), defenseman Ryan Graves (knee, IR, expected back around Nov. 28) and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (lower body, IR, expected back around Nov. 8). For Los Angeles, Kevin Fiala is on long-term injured reserve, Mats Zuccarello is on injured reserve, and Alex Turcotte is day to day. In goal, both Penguins netminders will likely see action this weekend — the back-to-back in Anaheim on Sunday (8 p.m. ET) leaves no choice. Arturs Silovs carries a 2.98 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage, while Sergei Murashov is 0-4-1. Darcy Kuemper (5-3-1, 3.46 GAA, .885 save percentage) is the Kings' expected starter. Projection: what tonight means Projection: A Penguins win ends the four-game skid, pulls Pittsburgh level with Los Angeles at 14 points, and — with Anaheim on Sunday and San Jose on Wednesday still to come — turns the California swing into a genuine reset. A loss makes it five straight, and the back-to-back in Anaheim starts to look like the trip where the season slipped away. Projection: Crosby passing Dionne tonight is the likeliest milestone of the season so far — he has a point in the building before, and the top-line reunion with Malkin is built to produce. If Crosby gets that point, expect the loudest ovation of the night to come from the Penguins' bench. Projection: Watch the special teams. If Pittsburgh's power play finally converts against the league's worst penalty kill, the Penguins have their clearest path to two points. If the Kings kill it off and Kempe's line gets rolling, the road record (1-6-1) says this one gets away fast. The Penguins' season is not over in November. But at 5-9-2, with the Metropolitan pulling away, a weekend in California will tell us a lot about whether this team has a climb in it — or whether the rebuild conversation starts before Thanksgiving. Tonight, in Los Angeles, is where that answer starts.