 neutral zone. It's a little tough to implement into a game situation right away, but we've been at it for a month, and I think when we're all on the same page and everyone is doing their individual job, it works really well like you saw tonight. I think it can be really successful.''Mikael Granlund also scored as Nashville opened a three-game West Coast trip with another big offensive performance undermined by key mistakes late. Two days after the Predators rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third period for a 6-5 win over Washington, they nearly pulled off a comeback win in the final frame for the third time already this season. The Preds have scored a whopping 23 goals in their first five games, but have yielded 19 while going 3-2-0.''It's a good wakeup call for us this early in the season,'' Duchene said. ''I think that was our worst game of the year. ... There's lots of good things in the third (period) we can build on, but we shot ourselves in the foot. This one stings, because we thought we were going to overtime at least, and I like our team in overtime.''Jack Campbell made 28 saves for Los Angeles, and Juuse Saros stopped 30 shots for Nashville. Although the Kings are coming off the franchise's worst season since 2007-08, that team never gave up 21 goals in any four-game stretch, as these Kings have done to start the season under McLellan. But Los Angeles has been highly entertaining while scoring 18 goals in four games, an impressive turnaround for one of the NHL's lowest-scoring teams last season. Granlund put the Predators ahead 4:55 after the opening faceoff, but Amadio evened it with a rebound goal when Kovalchuk screened Saros and tipped a puck to the net by defenseman Sean Walker, who had two assists in an outstanding performance. Kovalchuk made it 4-1 before Arvidsson got his third goal of the young season early in the third. Duchene's power-play goal with 9:04 left in regulation made it 4-3, and Scissons tied it 34 seconds later.''In the first two periods, I thought we were outworked,'' Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ''They were more on their toes, and more ready to go than we were. They grabbed the energy in their home opener, and they took it to us for really two periods.''NOTES: Kings D Derek Forbort still hasn't played this season due to an undisclosed injury. ... Nashville D Dan Hamhuis returned to the lineup after sitting out two games. Matt Irwin was scratched. ... Ryan Ellis and Ryan Johansen had two assists apiece for the Preds. UP NEXTPredators: Visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday in the second stop of their three-game trip. Kings: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday in the second of five home games in eight days.---More NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Time: 6:00 PM EDT Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90015 / The Los Angeles Kings must feel as if they have no place to go but up heading into their home opener on Saturday afternoon against the Nashville Predators. The Kings ended their season-opening three-game road trip at 1-2-0 after losing 8-2 to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick gave up a career-high eight goals on Wednesday and has allowed 14 goals on 56 shots in his two appearances this season." He, as well as everybody else, has to be better," Kings coach Todd McLellan told reporters afterward. The Kings will be up against a Nashville team that's showing confidence in its offensive abilities after combining for 11 goals during a current two-game win streak. The Predators already have goals from 12 players, none with more than four." Lot of depth," said center Ryan Johansen, who scored his first two goals of the season on Thursday night in a 6-5 win against the visiting Washington Capitals. Johansen, who led Nashville with 64 points last season (14 goals, 50 assists), pointed to the fourth line of Daniel Carr, Kyle Turris and Craig Smith as examples of "top-end players" who have sacrificed the potential for more production for the betterment of the team. Smith was third on the Predators with 21 goals last season, Turris led the Ottawa Senators with 27 goals three years ago, and Carr was the American Hockey League's Most Valuable Player last season after scoring 30 goals for the Chicago Wolves." The way our guys have been handling our team and the depth we have, it's been impressive and fun to watch," Johansen said. "Everyone is going out there and doing everything they can to be effective and we need that." McLellan saw signs the Kings were headed in the right direction in a 4-3 overtime win at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, even though Los Angeles gave up a three-goal lead during regulation. All that progress unraveled 24 hours later in Vancouver when the Canucks surged to a 3-0 lead, then twice allowed the Kings to back within two, only to plaster them with four straight goals in the third period." I think you find out something about every individual each day, and they reveal themselves in certain situations," McLellan said. "We found something out about our group that has to be fixed, and we'll work towards fixing it." Jack Campbell is waiting in the wings for Los Angeles if Quick's struggles continue much longer. Quick is not alone with his slow start, as veterans Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez have no points and a minus-5 rating through three games. McLellan wasn't ready to single anyone out, but he's clearly unhappy with certain individual performance." Our group's got a long, long way to go," he said. "Some of the players we've counted on, or we need to count on, have to play a lot better or they don't belong in the league, and we'll have to look at some individuals." --Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Nashville Predators
Los Angeles Kings
Pick Center
NHL
FINAL (10/12/2019)
TomBartonSports
