Predators 4, Kings 3
LOS ANGLES -- David Legwand scored two goals and Carter Hutton made 35 saves as the Nashville Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Saturday night.
Legwand banged home a rebound off a shot from the point from Mattias Ekholm at 16:04 of the final period to give the Predators (7-5-2) their first win of a seven-game road trip. Patric Hornqvist added three assists.
The Kings (9-6-0) were led by Jake Muzzin's two assists while Anze Kopitar added a goal and an assist.
Los Angeles knotted the score at 3 by scoring two goals within 2:17 in the third period. Dustin Brown's shot from the left boards eluded Hutton to get the Kings within a goal. Mike Richards then tied the game on a goalmouth scramble during a power play at 11:18.
The Predators opened the scoring when Legwand scored on the power play at 11:15 of the first period. Legwand took a pass from rookie defenseman Seth Jones and fired a wrist shot past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick for his third goal of the season. The score marked the sixth consecutive game in which the Kings surrendered a power play goal.
Los Angeles' penalty-killing woes continued when Nashville doubled its lead, scoring again with the man advantage late in the opening period to make it 2-0. Shea Weber got an easy tap-in on a feed from Patric Hornqvist at 19:06. The goal was Weber's fourth of the campaign and tied him for the team lead in goals with four.
The Kings sliced the lead to one after 20 minutes after Kopitar banged home a rebound of a Muzzin shot at 19:41 of the opening session. The goal was Kopitar's third of the season and marked the first time he scored in consecutive games.
Nashville retook a two-goal lead in the second period when Eric Nystrom was left unchecked in front of the net after a Drew Doughty turnover. Doughty's back pass hit referee Mike Hasenfrantz and bounced to Hornquist, who shoveled a backhand feed to Nystrom, who beat Quick with a snap shot at 8:41 of the middle frame.
NOTES: This was the second game of a seven game, 17-day road trip for Nashville, the longest amount of time they've been away from Bridgestone Arena in their history. The Predators hit the road due to the Country Music Association Awards being held in Music City on Wednesday. ... D Jones entered the game with the highest time on ice (25:08 this season) for any rookie and is 12th overall for defenseman. ... Nashville is 6-0-2 in games they score first. ... Kings RW Jeff Carter was placed on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury and missed his first game of the season. The first time he's been out since the final game of the 2011-12 season, a stretch of 61 games. ... Kings RW Tyler Toffoli and C Linden Vey were recalled from Los Angeles' AHL Manchester affiliate Saturday. Toffoli replaced Carter on the Kings second line while Vey was a scratch. ... The Kings announced their franchise record 76th straight sellout at Staples Center, a streak that started on Dec. 3, 2011.
