Saros makes season-high 46 saves for Predators in victory against Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Juuse Saros made a season-high 46 saves, including 20 in the third period, for the Nashville Predators in a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

"That's what you need. When you look at teams that are able to win a lot in the league, you are not going to be at your best every night," Predators coach John Hynes said. "The top teams have excellent goaltending. He's a key guy for us. The consistency level he can play with has been pretty impressive."
Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and Roman Josi had two assists for the Predators (22-11-2), who are 10-1-1 in their past 12 games.
"I think everyone kind of knows what we need to do to be successful," Saros said. "It is good when everyone is chipping in and we are keeping our foot on the gas."

Martin Frk had a power-play goal in his season debut, Dustin Brown scored in his return, and Jonathan Quick made 16 saves for the Kings (16-13-5).
"If you look at our 5-on-5 play, I think we outplayed them the whole night from start to finish," Brown said. "Give up two power-play goals and [an] empty-net [goal], it's one of those games where 5-on-5, I think we were the better team, but it's not always the way it goes."
Matt Luff, who played his first three NHL seasons with the Kings, scored his first goal for the Predators at 2:49 of the second period for a 3-0 lead. Luff signed a one-year contract July 28.
"Had a tough couple years there, and to get one [point] there is huge," said Luff, who scored 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 64 games with Los Angeles.
Saros saved Adrian Kempe's penalty shot at 5:06 after the Kings forward had been held by Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier.
"I like when there's a lot of action. I just kind of go with the flow in these games," said Saros, who is 8-1-0 in his past nine starts.
Brown scored on a breakaway at 9:37 to cut the lead to 3-1. He had not played since Dec. 19 at the Washington Capitals, missing three games in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Frk made it 3-2 at 10:33 of the third period, scoring on a half-slap shot from the right point through traffic. It was his first goal since March 11, 2020.
"Let's face it, he did what we asked him to do coming up here, shoot the puck in the net," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "He was the one guy that finished on the power play. Good for him. He's not afraid to shoot it."

Yakov Trenin scored into an empty net at 18:49 for the 4-2 final.
Forsberg gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 3:49 of the first period when he scored on a wrist shot from the right circle on a power play for his 18th goal. He has scored in three straight games (four goals) and has scored seven goals in the past seven games.
The Predators got their second power-play goal at 19:01 for a 2-0 lead. Matt Duchene beat Quick under his right arm and the puck trickled in for his 14th goal.
"I thought it was a hard-fought game. L.A. played fast and tenacious," Hynes said. "We found a way. Our special teams were big factors. … You have to find different ways to win and we were able to do that."

NOTES:Saros made an NHL career-high 49 saves in a 7-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on April 27, 2021. His most saves in a win was 47 (2-1 at the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 23, 2019). … Saros has made 87 saves on 91 shots in his past two games. … Each of Josi's assists came on the power play, where he has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) this season. … Among United States-born players in NHL history, Brown tied Bill Guerin for eighth place with 1,263 games and passed Bobby Carpenter for 21st place with his 321st goal. … Kings defenseman Jacob Moverare played 14:48 in his NHL debut. … Nashville outshot Los Angeles 48-20. … Los Angeles had a penalty shot in three straight games for the first time in its history. … Frk's power-play goal ended a streak of 24 straight kills over six games for the Predators.