Preds Rally Past Kings for 5-3 Win

The Nashville Predators scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
Juuse Saros made 31 saves in goal for the Preds, who improved to 22-18-6 with the win.

THE STORY

The Predators got off to a quick start, scoring on their first two shots of the game to jump out to a 2-0 lead just 39 seconds into the first period. Mikael Granlund got a piece of an Alexandre Carrier shot to make it 1-0 just 19 seconds in, and Matt Duchene fired a backhander five-hole on a feed from Cody Glass to extend the lead to 2-0 a mere 20 seconds later. Kings goaltender Pheonix Copley was replaced by Jonathan Quick immediately after Duchene's goal.

Los Angeles got on the board when Sean Durzi received a pass from Anze Kopitar and sent it between Saros' legs to trim the Kings' deficit to 2-1 at 9:26 of the first period. Adrian Kempe potted the equalizer in the second period when a loose puck deflected off his leg and into the net at 6:14. Quinton Byfield scored the go-ahead goal with under three minutes remaining in the frame to give the Kings a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Preds tied it up on the man advantage in the third period, when a shot from Granlund redirected off of Ryan Johansen and into the net on the power play to make it 3-3. Duchene made it 4-3 at 13:34 of the third period with his second goal of the night, beating Quick off the rush with a wrist shot in front of the net. Cole Smith scored his first NHL goal, redirecting a Roman Josi shot at 16:10 for the 5-3 final.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Quick Change
Nashville scored two goals in the first 39 seconds of the game, becoming the 15th team in NHL history to do so. The hot start led to an early goaltending change for Los Angeles, with Quick entering the game in relief of Copley after he made one save on three shots.
Per NHL PR, with both Granlund (0:19) and Duchene (0:39) scoring within the opening minute for the Predators, Nashville became the 15th team in NHL history to score twice within the opening 39 seconds of a game - and the second to do it this season following the Calgary Flames (0:30 on Dec. 20, 2022).
Dutchy Gets Two
With a team-leading two goals in the win, Duchene now has 15 points (7g-8a) in his last 18 games. He scored in four straight contests from Dec. 17-23 (4g) and had a five-game point streak from Dec. 15-23 (4g-1a).
Goal Smith
Smith's third-period goal was the first of his NHL career. Smith has skated in 49 NHL games, all with the Predators, over parts of three seasons. He has recorded 10 points (1g-9a) with the Preds, all during the 2022-23 season.

Captain Hatty
Josi recorded a team-high three points with a hat trick of helpers in the win, assisting on Duchene's first-period tally, Johansen's power-play goal and Smith's game winner. The Predators captain extended his team lead in assists to 27, and he ranks in the Top 10 among all NHL defensemen with 39 points (12g-27a).

THEY SAID IT

Josi on the win:
"It was huge. It was obviously a tough game. It was kind of up and down - we got the lead, then they got the lead. And I think you see how important the power play is. It hasn't been good recently and it was a huge goal and got us back in the game. And obviously, it was a very nice play at the end by Carrier and Duchene and just a really good character win coming back and getting two points… It's always fun to play at home. Tonight was awesome. Saturday nights in Smashville are special and you see the crowd, just at the end in the third period, the way they pushed us. It's so much fun to play here and it'll be nice to get two games at home before the break."

Johansen on the nature of the game:
"Lots happening out there, and we just stuck with it. The guys made some big plays and it was a good hockey game. We found a way to get the lead and close out the game. It was a fun game and a big two points for our group… For us it felt like just some crazy bounces were going in. My stick broke on the one and then a couple of weird bounces on their their power-play goal and the other goal, so it was just about sticking with it and keep playing our game and we felt comfortable in scoring a goal to at least tie it up and and to get another one, that was obviously huge."

Smith on the team's reaction to his first NHL goal:
"I think that might mean more than anything, just the close-knit mentality of this team, especially after the kind of meeting we had today. And just the response we had as a whole team to be able to look over there and see everybody's so excited, it means a lot. It's the first one and so everybody's that excited for you. It's super cool."

Josi on Smith scoring his first NHL goal:
"It's awesome. Your first first goal is so special in the NHL, and he's had a lot of bad puck luck. He's had so many chances and we knew eventually it was going to go in. And he's just one of those guys, I think he saw it by the reaction of everyone on the bench just what he does for the team out there. He's a selfless guy, he works so hard. Every game he hits, he fights, he does all the right things. So, for him to get rewarded finally is huge for him, but the whole team is also really excited for him."
Head Coach John Hynes on Smith's goal:
"That is long overdue for Cole. He's got tons of scoring chances and opportunities. The big thing that I take away from it is the reaction on the bench, and the guys on the team. When a guy like that scores, and you get the reaction you get from the team, I think that shows you how much value, how well liked he is. How respected he is in the game that he plays, what he means to his teammates, so it was long overdue for him. I'm certainly happy for him. But to me, I think the big thing out of that is when you look at the team's reaction, I think you can tell how much the guy is valued in the room. "

Hynes on building momentum from the win:
"Well, I think there's lots of things to build on. But to me, I think it comes back to some things that we discussed today, and then the actions that we're taking, and now how do we build those things into being consistent? You know, tonight, it was a hungry group. It was a passionate group. Throughout the lineup, we had good performances. I thought guys played to the goals that we need to play to. It was a good game. It was a good response game. And I certainly think it's something that we need to take some lessons out of this one to build on and go on on Tuesday."

UP NEXT

The Preds will host the Winnipeg Jets in a Central Division matchup Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.