One of the biggest surprises this season has been the struggles of the Nashville Predators. They have made the playoffs in nine of the past 10 years but are going to have a lot of work if they hope to return this season as they are 9-17-7 and currently in last place in the Central Division. At one point this season, they lost eight in a row but have been more competitive as of late with a 2-1-1 record over the last four.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings have been heading in the other direction and have been one of the best teams in the NHL. They had a six game win streak and have gone 8-1-1 over the past 10 games. They also have already played the Predators once this season as Darcy Kuemper earned the only shutout of the season against Nashville as the Kings won 3-0.
Key to Victory for the Los Angeles Kings: Don't look past the Predators
While the Predators have struggled this season, there is still a lot of veteran talent on this team that can still take a game over. The Predators still have Filip Forsberg and added Steven Stamkos this offseason, both of which have nine goals on the season.
For the Kings it would be easy to look past this game because their road trip is almost at the end, this is game six of seven, and they have probably their biggest game of the trip tomorrow. The Kings are ending the road-trip with a back-to-back as they travel to Washington to play the Capitals on Sunday night.
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Kings 4, Nashville Predators 1
The Los Angeles Kings have been one of the best 5v5 teams in the NHL this season with a Goal % of 59.35%, meanwhile the Nashville Predators have been one of the worst at 38.53%. If the Kings can avoid penalties and keep it 5v5, which I believe they should, they will avoid the 'trap game' and go into the game against the Capitals with great momentum.