National Hockey League
Nashville 4, Los Angeles 1
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, February 22, 2024
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Jake Brenk, Trevor Hanson
Linesmen: Brandon Gawryletz, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 17415

Colton Sissons had a goal and two assists and Juuse Saros made 27 saves as the visiting Nashville Predators ended the Los Angeles Kings' four-game winning streak with a 4-1 win on Thursday.

Jeremy Lauzon had a goal and an assist and Mark Jankowski and Yakov Trenin also scored for the Predators, who have won three in a row for the first time since a four-game winning streak Dec. 10-16.

Kevin Fiala scored and David Rittich made 17 saves for the Kings, who are 5-2-0 since Jim Hiller took over as interim head coach on Feb. 2.

The Predators took a 1-0 lead at 8:47 of the first period.

Sissons entered the Los Angeles zone on a rush and tried to drop a pass to Luke Schenn trailing on the play, but the puck went off the skate of Kings forward Anze Kopitar and against the wall.

Sissons retrieved the puck and made a no-look backhand pass between two defenders to Trenin entering the play. He gathered the puck as he skated through the left circle and then out-waited Rittich before sliding the puck into the net with a backhand.

The Kings went on their first power play at 10:59, but Nashville recorded the only shot on goal during the man advantage.

Cole Smith was called for high sticking at 17:44 and Trenin for was whistled tripping a minute later and the Kings capitalized on the five on three.

Fiala received a pass in the high slot with room to get close and he hit the net at 19:07 of the first to tie it 1-1.

Jankowski gave Nashville a 2-1 lead at 14:46 of the second period.

Luke Evangelista took a shot from along the goal line that hit Rittich, but he lost sight of the puck as it lay between his pads and Jankowski shot it into the net.

Sissons scored an empty-net goal with 3:00 left to give the Predators a 3-1 lead, and Lauzon scored another empty netter with 53 seconds remaining for the 4-1 final.

Nashville stayed even in points with the St. Louis Blues for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and pulled within four points of the Kings for the first wild card.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Los Angeles
Colton Sissons 3 Points Kevin Fiala 1
Colton Sissons 1 Goals Kevin Fiala 1
Colton Sissons 2 Assists Adrian Kempe 1
N/A Power Play Goals Kevin Fiala 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Juuse Saros .964 Save Percentage David Rittich .895
Juuse Saros 27 Saves David Rittich 17
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 21 4 0-3 2-3 8 24
Los Angeles 28 1 1-3 3-3 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Kings have a W/L % of .607 after a win and .407 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Predators have a W/L % of .517 after a win and .536 after a loss.