In Nashville, the Predators blew a 2-0 lead to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, then rallied from a 3-2 deficit with three goals in the third period for a 5-3 win.
Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, and Cole Smith were the third period strikers for Nashville.
“The second was a tough period [for us],” Duchene said. “They played pretty well and got good bounces that went in our net. But I thought we did a good job sticking with it. It was a big win for us, and I think we just take the lessons of what made us successful from tonight and take them on to the next game.”
Juuse Saros made 31 saves in the Nashville win.
“[Smith] has been playing great,” Duchene said. “It’s really nice to see him get rewarded. He works his butt off every night, so good for him.”
The Preds improved to 22-18-6.
“Tonight it was a hungry group, it was a passionate group,” Nashville coach John Hynes said. “Throughout the lineup we had good performances and I thought guys played to the ability they can play to, so it was a good game. It was a good response game, and I certainly think we can take some lessons out of this one and build on it going [forward].”
Nashville took a 2-0 lead in the first 39 seconds of the game, Mikael Granlund and Duchene were the strikers.
“It was a big one,” Hynes said. “It was a key moment in the game. They came through. That’s a typical example of where you need your power play to step up. They certainly did that and that was a big difference.”
LA got one back in the first period on a marker from Sean Durzi.
The Kings dropped to 25-17-6.
“In times like this when you lose three in a row, you’ve got to look at yourself first and then go from there,” LA’s Anze Kopitar said. “If everybody just elevates their game a few notches, we’ll be a lot better as a team. Start with yourself and then expand, and then you can help each other.”
Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield scored in the middle frame to give the Kings a 3-2 lad.
Jonathan Quick made 22 saves after Pheonix Copley was given the hook when he surrendered the two early goals on three shots.
“[Quick] gave us a boost,” LA coach Todd McLellan said. “We had really nothing else we could do to change the momentum. We needed a little bit of time. He played well.”
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