Nashville's top line of Duchene, Forsberg, and Granlund need to outplay a hot Kings top trio to get the win tonight.
Tonight the Nashville Predators play host to the Pacific Division L.A. Kings at Bridgestone Arena. This game serves as a chance for each team to distinguish themselves after shaky starts early in the season.
The Kings come to Nashville for the second game of a back to back after an overtime win last night against the Detroit Red Wings in a game with more than one crazy moment. The Kings took the lead in the third after Red Wings goalie Ville Husso thought he had the puck contained between his legs, but Anze Kopitar noticed it leak out and sent it into the net. Former Predator Viktor Arvidsson was on his way to a late empty net goal but was interrupted at the last second and missed the chance to seal the victory. Detroit scored with less than a minute to go sending the game into overtime. Phillip Danault won the game for the Kings in overtime.
The Kings season has been almost as interesting as last night's game in Detroit. The Kings opened their season against division rivals Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, but couldn't come away from either game with a win. Their third game of the season was a goal scoring onslaught as the Kings beat the Minnesota Wild 7-6.
The early names of note belong to top line Adrain Kempe, Anze Kopitar, and another former Predator Kevin Fiala. The trio has combined for 6 goals and 17 points in the first four games. Kopitar led the team in points and Kempe in goals last season, and with the addition of Fiala via trade the top line is off to a strong start this season.
Jonathan Quick started last night's game along with the first two of the season for L.A. In three games, he's earned a .895 save percentage. Back up Cal Petersen tanked his goaltending stats in the 7-6 game against the Wild, so the Kings' goaltending decision tonight is worth keeping a close eye on.
Nashville gets another chance to figure out who they can be tonight. The Predators are 2-2, but the two losses to Dallas in their home and away revealed glaring holes in execution and competitive mindset.
Nashville's top line of Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, and Filip Forsberg looked good in training camp, but the offensive magic from last season has yet to carry over into the 2022-2023 regular season. Defensively, Nashville has looked shaky at times as well. Roman Josi hasn't played to his Norris finalist form in these early season games and Mattias Ekholm is still adjusting to playing opposite Ryan McDonaugh. Even usually rock solid Juuse Saros is trying to shake the rust and dust off after letting in a few uncharacteristic goals against Dallas.
After being dominated by the Dallas Stars, the Predators need to control the tempo and play of this game from the start to show they are gaining regular season traction after a unique and condensed preseason. The pieces for Preds' success are there. Tonight the team needs to put them together and get back in the win column.
The Predators take on the Kings at Bridgestone Arena tonight with a later than usual puck drop of 8:30 pm CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and 102.5 The Game will have the call.