Photo Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Los Angeles scored two goals in the first, two goals in the second, and withstood a late flurry from Nashville in the third to break their 5-game losing streak and come out with a 4-3 win against the Predators. The Kings (7-5-3) finish off their back-to-back games with a win, while the Predators (7-5-2) start theirs with a loss.
Special Teams:
Powerplay – 1 for 6, 16.6%
Penalty Kill – 5 for 6, 83.3%
Best Play of the Game: Craig Smith knocks down a clearing attempt out of the Los Angeles zone, turns around, and fires the puck right past Jonathan Bernier tying the game at 2 late in the first
Worst Play of the Game: Teemu Laakso’s entire game. I hate to really just generalize it like that, but he ended up only playing 10 minutes on the ice (compared to 17-30 minutes for the other 4 defensemen) and had 1 penalty and 4 giveaways.
My Three Stars:
#1: - Dustin Penner – For all the criticism he’s been getting lately, he had a great game tonight, getting 2 assists and a +2 against Nashville.
#2: - Jonathan Bernier – He is the Kryptonite for the Nashville Predators. Starting all 4 for LA against Nashville last season and going 3-1-0, he’s off to a 1-0-0 start this year.
#3: - Patric Hornqvist – Getting a goal in the final 90 seconds and extending his goal-scoring streak to 6 games now
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Can Nashville ever find a guaranteed solution to knock off the Los Angeles Kings? Not yet, it seems, as they had trouble getting quality chances all night.
Los Angeles got out to a two goal lead fairly quickly and early in the first period, getting goals from Martinez and Doughty 1:44 apart. This lead wouldn’t stick, though as Nashville would chip away their lead with a 4-on-4 goal from Halischuk at 10:41 and the equalizer from Smith at 16:02, finishing the first period tied at 2 apiece.
The second period, though? Much different story. The Kings yet again tried to smother the Predators and they were successful, scoring two more goals from Richards and Gagne to get their two goal lead back and make it 4-2 after forty minutes.
Nashville couldn’t seem to find their footing in the third period, getting a couple of powerplays but not finding much of an offensive presence. The Predators would make it interesting in the final minutes of the game getting a goal from Patric Hornqvist at 18:39 to make it 4-3, however the final push by Nashville in the remaining 90 seconds just wasn’t enough as the Kings finished the game and broke their losing streak
Stay tuned to The Predatorial tomorrow morning for the gameday preview of the Anaheim game!
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Stay frosty, friends.
