Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist for the visiting Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
Gustav Nyquist also scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who have won six of nine.
Drew Doughty scored a power-play goal and David Rittich made 31 saves for the Kings, who have just one win in their past 11 games.
The Kings were hoping for a better outcome in the opener of a four-game homestand after going 1-3-2 on the recently concluded six-game road trip, but instead were knocked out of a playoff spot they’ve held all season.
O’Reilly gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 7:56 of the second period.
Pierre-Luc Dubois was in the penalty box for tripping Tommy Novak when O’Reilly tipped a point shot from Roman Josi into the net for his 17th goal of the season.
It was also the 11th power-play goal of the season for O’Reilly, moving him into third place in the NHL.
Doughty tied it 1-1 at 8:52 of the second with a slap shot from the high slot while Ryan McDonagh was in the penalty box for delay of game.
The Predators regained the lead, 2-1, at 13:40 of the second period when defenseman Luke Schenn took a shot from just inside the blue line. Rittich made a pad save, but Nyquist was in position to score the rebound for his 12th goal of the season.
The Kings were the stronger team early on, but Rittich was needed to stop a pair of breakaways in the first seven minutes. The Predators eventually outshot the Kings 11-8 in the scoreless first period.
Nashville had a 5-on-3 power play for 23 seconds in the first period, but Rittich made three saves during the two-man advantage, and Doughty blocked a shot just as it expired.
–Field Level Media
