The Kings will be in Nashville today to face the Predators at a 5 p.m. start. They are coming off a tough shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, who scored with 30 seconds left to tie the game.
Are these the bounce back Kings? After losing to San Jose, LA bounced back in a big way, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 in one of their best performances of the year. Can they do it again this time?
The Predators’ season started poorly, going 0-5. Since then, they have improved to 4-1-1 in their last six, with their most recent win coming against the Colorado Avalanche 5-2.
Nashville won the season series last year 2-1-0, outscoring the Kings 8-6. The Kings will look to flip that in their favor this season. While the Kings had their offseason facelift, the Predators had quite the offseason, too.
The Predators headlined their retool with former Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos and shifty goal scorer Jonathan Marchesseault from the Vegas Golden Knights.
Stamkos has excelled against the Kings in his career, posting 10g, 14a, and a +10 in 21 games. He has been lethal on the powerplay in his career, yet out of his ten goals scored against the Kings, only two have been on the man advantage.
Marchessault is very familiar with the Kings due to his playing days in Vegas. In 34 games against LA, he has 9g, 17a, 26 points and a +6. The forward has yet to score a powerplay goal against the Kings in his career.
Captain Anze Kopitar leads the Kings career-wise against the Predators, with 12g 30a for 42 points in 54 appearances. However, Kopitar is a dismal -14 against the Predators, a stat he is generally on the flip side of against most opponents in his career.
The Kings are knocking at the door with their excellent even-strength play. They are the 11th-best team at even strength, scoring 31 goals in that department. Their powerplay is league average, 16th overall (16.7%), and their penalty kill is also in middling ground, 15th overall (77.1%).
Another game, another similar game plan. The Kings will take their fair share of penalties; that is just part of being the second most penalized team in the league (127 PIMS). If they stay relatively penalty-free, and their powerplay can chip in a goal, they will be in good shape most nights to win close games.
Of note:
(Per LA Kings PR)
Defenseman Brandt Clarke leads the team in assists with ten and sits tied for second in points with 11 (1-10=11), trailing only Anze Kopitar (4-9=13). Clarke skates into Bridgestone Arena with seven points (1-6=7) over his last five games, including his second three-plus point game of the season – and career – last Wednesday night against the Golden Knights. Clarke is one of five blueliners in team history to record multiple three-plus point games before turning 22.
Can Clarke continue his excellent play, or is this something that is watered down to status quo?
The first half of a tough back-to-back is coming right up.
