The Nashville Predators hadn’t lost in regulation in their last 12 home games. That all changed tonight when the Los Angeles Kings won 5 to 4. The Kings also managed to get five goals past Pekka Rinne, the Predators’ goalie who has the most wins in the NHL.The game was a must win for the Kings tonight in Nashville. Getting those two points helped bring the Kings from 9th place, just outside of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, to 8th. The Kings are in a playoff spot as of now, but with the points so close between the Western Conference teams, they can be in one minute, and out the other.
The Kings got on the board with a goal around 6 minutes into the 1st period. The puck was shot by Kings’ Justin Williams, but the Predator’s goalie Rinner, helped guide it in with a back kick into the net. As the last minute and a half of the 1st period approached, I started to get up to go make dinner. Thats when I heard Bob Miller screaming that Predators had scored with 1:19 remaining in the 1st. I ran back to the couch and caught the replay of the Predator’s goal that tied the game 1-1. Then, just 12 seconds later, the Kings returned the favor when Justin Williams scored to give the Kings the lead. The aggressiveness of the Kings payed off and the Kings led 2-1 at the end of the 1st period.
The 2nd period proved to be just as exciting with a total of 3 more goals scored. Nashville first tied it up 2-2 when Martin Erat shot the puck past Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick. Drew Doughty had an excellent game tonight both offensively and defensively. With less than half the 2nd period remaining, Doughty scored to once again give the Kings a lead. Newer L.A. King, Jordan Nolan, had the puck when Doughty came skating down the ice and slapped his stick down as a signal to give him the puck. Doughty’s shot went past Rinne and Jordan Nolan was credited with an assist. Doughty, who wears #8, scored his 8th goal of the season tonight. Though the Kings now had the lead, they did not keep it for long. The Predators came back about 2 minutes later with a goal from Sergei Kostitsyn. The 3rd period ended in a tie with 3 goals for each team.
Between the Kings and the Predators, their were 3 goals scored per period, each period. The high number of goals scored made the hockey game even more exciting. Those few times Nashville kept tying it up kept me on the edge of my seat. Early into the 3rd period, Kings’ defenseman Matt Greene scored with a shot from the blue line to give the Kings a 4-3 lead. The Kings were then 2 points ahead, with a score of 5-3. After the fifth goal was scored by the Kings, Rinne was replaced in goal with Anders Lindback. This two point lead of 5-3 didn’t last very long. Predators’ Patric Hornqvis made it a close game brining the score up to 5-4. Fortunately for us Kings fans, the Predators were unable to to tie the game this time around and L.A. won 5-4. The Kings got their 3rd win in a row and their 1st win on their 4-game road trip. Their next game is on Thursday as they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at 4:00 pm PST.