Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala found themselves in the right places at the right times on Monday to propel the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-0 road victory against the Nashville Predators.
Both players scored off rebounds to help the Kings recover from a shootout loss against Chicago on Saturday. The win gave the team its second victory in three games and Nashville its third loss in four contests.
Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper stopped 16 shots for his first shutout of the season and his fourth across two stints with Los Angeles. He also earned his fourth victory in seven games this season.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 left in the first period. He skated the length of the ice before passing back to Adrian Kempe. Kempe connected with Brandt Clarke, who fired a shot on Predators goalie Juuse Saros from near the left faceoff circle.
A 19-year veteran, Kopitar crashed the net to collect the rebound and notch his fifth goal of the season. It was his 424th goal with the Kings, putting him seven behind Dave Taylor for third on the franchise’s all-time list.
Kopitar — who leads the team with 14 points in 13 games this season — also set the Kings’ franchise record for most game-winning goals with 73, breaking the mark he shared with Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille.
Clarke got his team-leading 11th assist and Kempe was also credited with an assist.
Los Angeles doubled its lead just 35 seconds into the final period. Fiala and Phillip Danault had a two-on-one opportunity, with Soros saving Danault’s shot. However, Soros could not control the puck and Fiala took advantage for his sixth goal of the season. Trevor Moore and Danault earned assists.
Kempe added an empty-netter with 2:58 remaining. Trevor Lewis and Vladislav Gavrikov assisted on Kempe’s fifth of the season.
The Kings’ defense held the Predators in check as they posted just three shots in the third period, all of which came in the final four minutes.
Saros recorded 24 saves for the Predators.
–Field Level Media
