Watson scores twice to lift Predators past Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Austin Watson scored two goals for the Nashville Predators in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Saturday.
Roman Josi and Scott Hartnell scored, P.K. Subban had two assists, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for the Predators (24-11-6), who are 5-0-3 in their past eight games at Los Angeles.

WATCH: [All Predators vs. Kings highlights]
Adrian Kempe, Trevor Lewis and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Kings (24-13-5), who have lost two games in a row and four of six (2-3-1). Jonathan Quick made 16 saves.
The Kings twice cut a two-goal lead for the Predators to one in the third period. Los Angeles came back from down 3-0 in the third against Nashville at Staples Center on Nov. 4 before the Predators won 4-3 in overtime.

"They're not going to go away," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "There's a reason why they sit where they sit in the standings, and we knew that."
Watson put the Predators ahead 3-1 when he scored on their 13th shot on goal of the game at 16:49 of the second period.
Lewis cut the lead to 3-2 at 3:56 of the third. Kings forward Alex Iafallo, a healthy scratch the past two games, helped win the puck on the forecheck, and then passed to Lewis cutting down the middle.
Watson deflected a shot from defenseman Ryan Ellis for his second goal of the game at 5:05 to put the Predators up 4-2.
"He got rewarded tonight, going to the hard areas," Laviolette said of Watson. "He does a lot of the dirty work for us, so it was nice to see him chip in offensively."
Toffoli made it 4-3 at 8:24, but Rinne made five saves the rest of the way to preserve the lead.
"Probably the most exciting thing about this group is they have a way to stick around in hockey games," Kings coach John Stevens said.

Hartnell gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 11:53 of the second period. He came onto the ice and skated down the middle undetected. Ryan Johansen made a backhand pass from below the goal line to Hartnell, who lifted the bouncing puck over Quick's left shoulder.
The Kings tied the game 1-1 on an unassisted goal by Kempe at 6:43 of the second. Kempe stole the puck from Subban as he turned toward the Predators net and scored off a quick stick move.
The Predators have allowed the fewest first-period goals in the NHL (23), and they carried a 1-0 lead into the second after Josi scored a power-play goal at 15:08.
Los Angeles outshot Nashville 7-1 through the opening 10:06, but Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was called for interference against Pontus Aberg at 11:27 and then received an additional minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Dustin Brown was then sent to the box for tripping Kyle Turris 15 seconds into the four-minute penalty, giving the Predators a two-man advantage for two minutes. The Kings killed the 5-on-3, but Josi scored on a slap shot with 19 seconds remaining in the second penalty to Doughty.
"Unfortunately, they scored right at the end of it, which killed the effort on the 5-on-3 because they still got a goal out of that," Stevens said. "You don't want to get in a hole against that team because they check really well, and I thought that probably wasn't the best way to start the first period."
The Kings were outshot 8-0 over the final 9:54 of the first period.

Goal of the game

Watson's goal at 16:49 of the second period.

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Save of the game

Rinne stopping Doughty at 12:38 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Hartnell's goal at 11:53 of the second period.

They said it

"When we put our minds to it, we're a tough team to play against, and kudos to them over there. They're a really good veteran team with a lot of great players, and they've been there and done that. They've won Stanley Cups. They know how to win hockey games." -- Predators forward Austin Watson
"I thought it was going to be a tough game. I think they're as a good a team as there is in the Western Conference, and I thought it was a really good measuring stick for us." -- Kings coach John Stevens

Need to know

Kings defenseman Christian Folin (lower body) was activated from injured reserve and had a blocked shot and three hits in 16:37 in his first game since Dec. 18. ... Los Angeles defenseman Jake Muzzin (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 4. ... Kings forward Tanner Pearson set up Toffoli's goal and has two goals and three assists in a three-game point streak. … Ellis has one goal and one assist in three games since returning to the lineup following offseason knee surgery.

What's next

Predators: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, PRIME, NHL.TV)