Game Day: Preds at Kings Preview

The Nashville Predators (31-24-7) will face the Los Angeles Kings (38-20-8) for the third and final time this season on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
The puck drops at 9:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Here's everything you need to know:

Line 'Em Up

Below are Nashville's lines from Monday at Vancouver:
Leonard* - Glass - Duchene
Sherwood - Novak - Evangelista
Asplund - Sissons - Tomasino
Trenin - McCarron - Smith
Josi - Fabbro
McDonagh - Barrie
Lauzon - Foote
Saros
*President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced on Friday that the Predators had reassigned forward John Leonard to Milwaukee (AHL).

Last Time Out

Nashville moved to 15-13-4 on the road in 2022-23 with Thursday's loss to Arizona. The Predators closed out their four-game regular-season series against the Coyotes with a 2-2-0 record.
Cody Glass scored his ninth goal of 2022-23, and Luke Evangelista assisted on the goal to give him four points (2g-2a) in his first five career NHL games. Roman Josi recorded 30:17 of ice time, his second-most in a game this season, and logged a 5:02 shift in the third period. Matt Duchene (25:58), Evangelista (20:27), Glass (21:19) and Tommy Novak (23:08) established career highs in single-game ice time.

All-Time Meetings

The Predators are 40-28-(3)-9 all-time against the Kings, including a 22-13-(0)-6 record on the road. This is the third and final matchup between Nashville and Los Angeles in 2022-23 and the first and only at Crypto.com Arena.
Nashville is 1-0-1 against Los Angeles this season, earning a 5-3 win at home in the last meeting on Jan. 21. The Predators dropped a 4-3 shootout contest at Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 18.
The Predators are 3-1-1 in their last five games against the Kings; they are 7-2-1 in their last 10; and 3-2-0 in their last five on the road. Overall, the Predators have lost only three times in regulation to the Kings in their last 25 meetings (15-3-7), with Nashville having won 10 of 13.

Notables vs. Los Angeles

• Matt Duchene owns 25 points (10g-15a) in 30 career games vs. the Kings, including multi-point efforts in three of his last seven contests. He scored twice in Nashville's win vs. Los Angeles on Jan. 21.
• Josi has tallied 25 points (5g-20a) in 29 career games vs. the Kings, including 14 points (1g-13a) in his last 10 meetings against Los Angeles. He posted three assists in the Jan. 21 meeting between the two teams.
• Novak made his NHL debut on Oct. 19, 2021 vs. Los Angeles.
• Predators Defense Development Coach Rob Scuderi won the 2012 Stanley Cup as a member of the Kings.
• Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson played in 387 games for Nashville from 2014-21, tallying 241 points (128g-113a).
• Kings forward Kevin Fiala recorded 97 points (45g-52a) in 204 games with the Predators from 2015-19.

The Good Guys

• Juuse Saros is 21-12-5 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in his last 38 games dating back to Nov. 12. His 21 wins in that time frame are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL; he is tied for third in save percentage since Nov. 12 (among goalies with at least 20 GP). He's made at least 30 saves in 21 of those games and has faced at least 30 shots in 26 of those outings.
• Josi owns the Predators team lead in points with 56 (17g-39a). He has 50 points (16g-34a) in his last 52 games after recording two assists on March 2 at Florida. Since Oct. 27, Josi is tied for first among NHL blueliners in goals (17); tied for fourth in points (55); and tied for eighth in assists (38).
• Duchene has 30 points (13g-17a) in his last 34 games, including two consecutive three-point efforts on Feb. 23 at San Jose (3a) and Feb. 26 at Arizona (1g-2a). He's recorded points in 10 of his last 17 games (8g-9a), tallying multiple points in five of those outings.
• Novak has 23 points (9g-14a) in 31 games with Nashville since being recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Dec. 19. He recorded his first career multi-goal game on Feb. 18 vs. Florida (2g), followed it up with a season-high three points on Feb. 19 at Minnesota (1g-2a) and tallied another three-point effort on Feb. 26 at Arizona (1g-2a).
• Evangelista has four points (2g-2a) in his first five career NHL games. He scored his first two career NHL goals on Monday at Vancouver.

The Other Guys

The Kings are in second place in the Pacific Division and extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Quinton Byfield has recorded an assist in each of the last five games.
Fiala leads the Kings in points with 68 (22g-46a), and his 46 assists are also a team high. Adrian Kempe has scored a team-leading 32 goals, including five game winners. Los Angeles also has one of the top-five power plays in the league at 24.2%.

Watch & Listen

Coverage for Monday's game begins at 9 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on Bally Sports South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM.