Once again, for the fourth straight game, the Los Angeles Kings' match went to overtime and ended in a shootout. This time, the Nashville Predators pulled out a late 5-4 win at home, spoiling Anze Kopitar’s return from injury.
After three periods of high-scoring blows and back-and-forth action, the score sat at 4-4, showing flashes of elite offense and weak defense. The Kings held a 4-3 lead early in the third period, but their defense once again gave up a late rally to give a pulse to the Preds.
First Period: Both Teams Strike
Los Angeles drew first blood early thanks to Adrian Kempe, who struck at 12:33 to give the Kings an early 1-0 lead. In the early going, Los Angeles’ offense looked more comfortable from the jump than in earlier games.
But the Kings' defense let the offense down again when they allowed Predators Ryan O’Reilly to score a shot past Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper. The period ended in a tie, 1-1, just like every other period, with both teams showcasing their offensive prowess and the affair evenly matched.
Second Period: High Scoring Rally
The middle period produced the most scoring action on ice. The Kings regained early again, taking a 2-1 lead following Joel Armia’s goal, assisted by Alex Turcotte. It seemed like whenever the Kings felt they were in control, the Predators kept putting pressure on Los Angeles by scoring when they needed it most.
Preds Cole Smith would respond to score an unassisted goal and tie it up again, 2-2.
At the beginning of the second, Corey Perry would score his first goal officially as a Los Angeles King, giving Los Angeles a 3-2 lead.
Later in the period, O’Reilly scored his second goal on the ice to tie the game up 3-3. Once again, the Kings' defense has been a problem, and so have penalties, but tonight it wasn’t as bad as it’s been in their recent games.
Third Period: Another Overtime
Overall, the Kings' offense was better than the Predators' today, outshooting the road team 40-25, but Nashville would never give up and kept pushing the pace. Predators would respond to tie the game 4-4, following the goal from Trevor Moore, who gave the Kings a 4-3 lead earlier in the period.
Overtime & Shootout: Nashville Closes It Out
Neither team was able to capitalize in the sudden-death overtime period, and the game was decided by a shootout again in Los Angeles' favor. Following Joel Armia’s missed shot, the Predators edged out Los Angeles in the shootout to secure the extra point and a 5-4 final result.
Takeaways
For the Kings, the box score tells you a tale of stories. Despite the Kings outshooting Nashville 40-25, that stat doesn’t matter because once again, they couldn’t close the deal entirely when it mattered.
Issues with defensive play and zone coverage resurfaced, as the team has now gone four straight games into extra periods, raising questions about its inability to close games in regulation.
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