Saros, Preds Shut Out Kings to Extend Win Streak

On Monday night in Toronto, Juuse Saros was on hand to see Pekka Rinne join the Hockey Hall of Fame. One night later, Saros did his best impression of his mentor.

Filip Forsberg tallied twice, Saros stopped all 30 shots he faced, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Los Angeles Kings by a 3-0 final on Tuesday night at crypto.com Arena. The result extends the Preds win streak to five games and bumps them back into third place in the Central Division. 

Adam Wilsby tallied an empty-netter for Nashville, and although the game’s final period wasn’t as complete as their first two, the Preds still got the job done for their ninth win of the season. 

“For 40 minutes, it was really good,” Forsberg said. “In the last period we sat back a little bit too much, and they obviously had a good push. But, that's why we have ‘Juice.’ He made some great saves, but overall, a great win.”

“I loved our first two periods,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought it was really good road hockey...set ourselves up for a good game. Third period, we knew they'd have a little push. I thought the first six minutes we were a little loose, and then we settled in. I thought we defended well, but [we] need to be on our toes a little bit more in the third.”

Forsberg’s first of the night came when he took a feed from Nils Hoglander on a 2-on-1 and one-timed a shot past Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg for a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. In the second stanza, it was Hoglander again finding Forsberg where the winger sniped one from the left circle for his second of the night.

The Preds held their two-goal lead in the third, and although the Kings had plenty of chances, Saros and the Nashville defense turned Los Angeles aside at every opportunity before Wilsby sealed things up. 

“I like our puck play a lot,” Forsberg said. “I think we're pretty clean with the puck. There were a couple times in the third period that we got into trouble a little bit with it and got some odd man rushes. But overall, I think we're breaking out well. I think we're entering well off the rush and making some plays while we're in the offensive zone as well.”

For Saros, the last 48 hours were special. After joining Forsberg and Roman Josi in Toronto to see Rinne inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the trio jetted off to Los Angeles, and Saros was ready to go despite the unique itinerary. 

Perhaps there was some inspiration at play for No. 74? 

“A special couple days,” Saros said. “We got a little bit of [Pekka Rinne’s] luck to go from Toronto here. Obviously a special night last night, and then [this win], it was fun.”

“Yeah, probably a tribute to Pekka,” Brunette said of Saros. “Obviously means a lot to ‘Juice,’ and I thought he was outstanding tonight. [I was] kind of a little bit worried [about him] getting in late, but he wanted it. Obviously feeling pretty good after last night being there for ‘Peks,’ and then coming in and playing a Pekka-type game here tonight, which is good for him.”

Nashville’s back-to-back set concludes Wednesday night in Anaheim, and they’ll look for more of what’s been working over the last two weeks for their most successful stretch of the season. 

“Same thing,” Forsberg said of the game plan against the Ducks. “I think we kind of found the recipe, and it all starts with work. And I think it might be the most boring answer in the world, but we have to come out and be ready to go. Obviously, an incredibly skilled, high flying offensive team on the other side tomorrow. We have to match that with work ethic and see where it goes.”

Notes: 

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Tuesday night with Jonathan Marchessault remaining out with a lower-body injury. Defensemen Nic Hague and Ilya Lyubushkin were scratched. 

Per NHL Stats, the Predators extended their road point streak against the Kings to seven games dating to March 11, 2023 which is their second-longest active run against a single opponent, behind only the Sharks (8-0-1 since March 16, 2019).

Juuse Saros recorded his 28th career shutout and tied Niklas Backstrom for the sixth-most by a Finnish goaltender. Pekka Rinne, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, leads the list with 60.

The Predators will conclude a back-to-back set in Orange County when they face the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow night at Honda Center.