In Los Angeles, Matt Duchene had the only goal on penalties on Saturday in a 2-1 win for the Nashville Predators over the Kings.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak the Kings were working on.
“Guys did a good job,” Duchene said. “That’s a team with some guys that have won Cups, and a team that’s been really hot lately. So that’s a great win, obviously. [It seems like] we almost have a guy playing his first NHL game every night right now, and the guys are coming in and pulling their weight, doing the job.”
Despite the win, the Preds are still six points back of the Winnipeg Jets who downed the Florida Panthers in an overtime game.
“I thought in general it was a good hockey game,” Nashville coach John Hynes said. “I thought both teams competed really hard. They had some good lucks, and our goaltender made some big saves. I thought we had some good looks at times, and their guys made some big saves. I thought in general it was a hard-fought battle, and glad that we were able to come out on top.”
Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves in the Nashville win.
The Predators improved to 32-24-7.
“I think we had chances to win the game,” Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe said. “I think we played OK enough to win the game. … It was nothing with the structure or anything. It just didn’t bounce our way. It didn’t feel good out there. Just difficult, a little frustrating.”
Mikey Anderson gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the first period.
“[Anderson] just seems more confident,” Los Angeles defenseman Matt Roy said. “He knows his game defensively, and he seems to be jumping up more offensively, and it’s showing out there. So it’s good to have, and it’s good to have more production.”
Tommy Novak scored in the opening stanza to tie the game, 1-1, where it stayed through regulation and overtime.
“[Lankinen] was huge,” Hynes said. “He made some big saves for us. Goaltending has been [great] for us all year, whether it was [Lankinen or Juuse Saros]. Tonight, Kevin was the big difference in the game. That’s what we need from him. We need both guys to come up and help us win games, and it was nice to see Kevin get the win.”
LA is one back of the Vegas Golden Knights atop the Pacific Division.
The Kings dropped to Kings 38-20-9.
Pheonix Copley made 29 saves in the LA loss.
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