Carter's OT Goal Gives Kings Seventh Straight Win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeff Carter scored at 4:42 of overtime, Tyler Toffoli continued his strong start with two more goals, and the Los Angeles Kings extended their winning streak to seven games with a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Rookie Andy Andreoff also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 31 saves for the Kings, whose streak began after an 0-3 start.
Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis scored the tying goal with 6:04 left in the third period, and Pekka Rinne stopped 25 shots for the Predators, who had won the previous five meetings - all by one-goal margins.
Nashville's James Neal and Shea Weber scored power-play goals less than 3 1/2 minutes apart in the second period, and Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi each had two assists.
Carter took a lead pass off the left boards from defenseman Drew Doughty and went in alone on Rinne. He faked a shot and waited for the goalie to go down before flipping it over him for his fourth goal of the season and seventh goal in his last seven games against the Predators.
The Kings tied it at 2 with 12:54 left in the third. Toffoli converted a centering pass from Trevor Lewis for his team-high ninth goal — just 15 seconds after Lewis finished serving a high-sticking penalty.
Andreoff put the Kings ahead about 3 minutes later, converting a rebound of defenseman Jake Muzzin's shot from the left boards. But Ellis got the equalizer with 6:04 left in regulation, beating Quick to the glove side from the top of the right circle after carrying the puck into the zone.
The Predators, who were 1 for 13 on the power play over their previous four games, grabbed a 2-1 lead at 16:15 of the second on Weber's goal while Alec Martinez was off for hooking Forsberg. The captain beat Quick to the stick side with a one-timer from the top of the left circle after getting a cross-ice pass from Josi.
Toffoli opened the scoring at 4:28 of the second, scoring on a backhander a few feet in front of the net while Josi was off for hooking Kyle Clifford.
Quick preserved the one-goal lead with a sprawling leg save against Colin Wilson at 10:34 of the period. But Nashville went on the power play about 2 minutes later, and Neal beat Quick high to the stick side from close range 14 seconds after Brayden McNabb was sent off for high-sticking Cody Hodgson. Los Angeles came in averaging a league-high 14.7 penalty minutes.
NOTES: Kings captain Dustin Brown is still looking for his first goal after 10 games. It's his longest drought from the start of a season since the first 17 games of his 2003-04 rookie campaign. ... Through 10 games, the Predators remain the only team in the league that hasn't allowed a first-period goal. The longest season-opening streak in NHL history without allowing a first-period goal is 12 games, by the 1974-75 Kings. ... The Kings face the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks on Monday night, trying to start a season 4-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history. ... Rinne needs five more saves for 10,000 in the regular season, and Quick is 15 away from that total.
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