After a six-goal output in San Jose on Saturday night, the Nashville Predators are back in Los Angeles to face the Kings once again for a 9:30 p.m. CT puck drop at Crypto.com Arena. Tonight’s contest is the second meeting in the past five days between the Preds and Kings in L.A., the first of which saw Nashville prevail in an eight-round shootout last Thursday.
That victory over the Kings marked the start of a massive five-game roadtrip for the Predators as they fight for their playoff lives, and Saturday’s 6-3 triumph over the Sharks bumped Nashville back into the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Now, with the Preds and Kings deadlocked at 81 points apiece, the title of biggest game of the season belongs to this tilt tonight in Southern California.
“I think we knew this trip was going to be a really important one, obviously playing pretty much every team on this trip is somebody we're trying to chase,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said following Saturday’s win. “Taking care of business so far, but another massive match again on Monday, and just really all we can focus on is that next one.”
“Excited - I mean, it's the best time of year to play hockey,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Saturday. “Get to go into another hard building and play a team we had just played two nights ago, and it's the best time of year to play and we're excited for that challenge.”
Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Saturday with Ryan Ufko and Ozzy Wiesblatt serving as healthy scratches. Preds defenseman Nic Hague left Saturday’s game due to injury and did not return. The Predators did not practice on Sunday but are expected to hold a morning skate today.
