Legwand's 2 Goals Help Lift Predators Over Kings 4-3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Legwand's second goal of the game with 3:56 left lifted the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Legwand and Shea Weber scored power-play goals in the first period, Eric Nystrom also scored, and Patric Hornqvist had three assists. Carter Hutton made 35 saves in his fourth straight start since Pekka Rinne went on the injured list because of an infection in his surgically repaired hip.
Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Mike Richards scored for the Kings, and Jonathan Quick faced only 17 shots.
Center Jeff Carter, who had a hat trick against Nashville the last time the Predators visited Los Angeles on March 4, was placed on the injured list Saturday with a lower-body injury sustained in Wednesday's overtime victory against San Jose.
Trailing 3-1 after two periods despite outshooting Nashville 24-11, the Kings got closer at 9:41 of the third when Brown threw the puck toward the net from the left boards, and it found its way inside the post.
Richards tied it for the Kings on the rebound of a wrist shot by Tyler during a power play at 11:18, but Legwand restored the Predators' lead for good.
Legwand converted a rebound of Mattias Ekholm's long slap shot after Paul Gaustad won a faceoff deep in the Kings' zone.
Los Angeles outshot Nashville 14-6 in the first, but trailed 2-1 after the Predators connected on their two power plays of the period.
Rich Clune, claimed off waivers from the Kings last January, received a misconduct for instigating a fight with Daniel Carcillo at 7:28 of the period after Carcillo's hard open-ice hit against defenseman Roman Josi. It was Josi's second game back after missing 10 with a concussion.
Carcillo received an additional penalty for kneeing, so the teams continued skating 5-on-5 until about 3 minutes later when Kings defenseman Slava Voynov was sent off for tripping Nystrom. The Predators capitalized on the ensuing power play as Legwand sent a wrist shot from the slot past the screened Quick.
Los Angeles forward Kyle Clifford got a boarding penalty after his check on Craig Smith, and Weber connected with 53 seconds left in the first.
The Kings closed within 2-1 just 16 seconds later when Kopitar put in a rebound of Jake Muzzin's long wrist shot.
Nashville restored its two-goal lead 8:41 into the second period.
Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty had the puck in the left corner and tried a backhanded clearing pass around the boards, but the puck struck referee Mike Hasenfratz. Hornqvist then set up Nystrom in front of the net.
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