The Nashville Predators put a season-low 16 shots on goal, and none of them found the back of the net as they fell to Darcy Kuemper and the Los Angeles Kings by a final score of 3-0 Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
How the Predators lined up vs. Los Angeles
Forsberg-O’Reilly-Nyquist
Stamkos-Pärssinen-Marchessault
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
L’Heureux-Sissons-Smith
Skjei-Josi
Lauzon-Carrier
Del Gaizo-Schenn
Saros
Wedgewood
Extra: McCarron, Tomasino, Fabbro
Game Summary
Anze Kopitar got things rolling for the Kings at 13:24 of the first period, banking a shot in off the pad of Juuse Saros from below the goal line to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.
An uneventful first period for the Predators gave way to a scrappy second. Luke Schenn and former Predators forward Tanner Jeannot dropped gloves at 6:36 of the frame, and each was assessed a five-minute fighting major. Less than two minutes later, Kings defenseman Kyle Burroughs clipped Gustav Nyquist with a knee, and Ryan O’Reilly swiftly came to Nyquist’s defense. O’Reilly and Burroughs each got five minutes for fighting, and Burroughs got an extra two for kneeing, giving the Predators a power-play opportunity – but without one of their top power players in O’Reilly.
The Predators were unsuccessful on the man advantage and play continued at even strength until Jeremy Lauzon laid a big hit on Alex Turcotte and had to answer to Phillip Danault. Both Danault and Lauzon were whistled for roughing, but neither team could get anything going at 4-on-4 and the 1-0 score carried into the second intermission.
The Predators also made some changes to their forward line combinations in the second period, with Luke Evangelista and Zachary L’Heureux moving up to join Steven Stamkos on the second line. Juuso Pärssinen slid down to the fourth line to play on the wing with Colton Sissons and Cole Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault joined Tommy Novak and Mark Jankowski on the second line. Though the shuffling did not generate anything offensively for Nashville, the Predators did manage to hold Los Angeles to just three shots on goal in the second period.
That quickly changed at the beginning of the third period, however, when the Kings piled up five quick shots on goal before the Predators could manage one. It paid off for Los Angeles, as former Predators forward Kevin Fiala scored on a rebound in the opening minute of the third to extend the Kings’ lead to 2-0.
This time, it was the Predators who managed to put just three shots on goal in the third period while they were down in the game. Adrian Kempe scored into the empty net for Los Angeles at 17:02 of the third period for the 3-0 final.
Key Takeaways
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Monday marked Lauzon’s 300th career NHL game.
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Nashville defenseman Marc Del Gaizo made a big play at the top of the second period, swiping the puck away from the goal line after it had snuck past Saros to rob the Kings of what would have been their second goal of the night.
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Turcotte did not return to the game after taking the hit from Lauzon in the second period.
Up Next
The Predators hit the road for a back-to-back set Wednesday against the Washington Capitals and Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Puck drop for each game is at 6 p.m. CT, and the games will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.
Visit The Hockey News Nashville Predators team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, podcasts and more.
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