In Los Angeles Saturday night, the Nashville Predators looked to be going to down to another defeat in a skid that has caused some concern.
But Craig Smith and Viktor Stalberg finally solved Jonathan Quick in the LA net to lead the Preds to a 2-1 win.
“We were able to get a bounce,” Smith said. “Some of those bounces we weren’t getting the last couple of games.”
Pekka Rinne earned 200th career NHL win in victory over LA- file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Pekka Rinne made 23 saves for the win.
“I thought that defensively, that was one of the better games in a long time,” Rinne said. “Everybody knows we’ve struggled a little bit here, and that was a huge win for us against a really good team.”
For the Kings, it was a lost two points they thought had snagged.
“It’s obviously a tough loss,” said Anze Kopitar. “I don’t think we managed the puck good enough, especially coming out of our zone to make plays or to maybe set up some chances on the rush, or to have some [offensive] zone time. We’re going to have to be better with that in the next game.”
Quick made 21 saves in the loss.
“That’s kind of the way it goes throughout the season,” forward Dwight King said. “Those balance out, eventually, I think. I think it’s just unfortunate for … Muzzin. But they played hard. They worked for it too. I’ve got to give them a little bit of credit for that.”
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