Los Angeles Kings continue rolling with 5-4 win over Nashville Predators -NHL Update
Nashville did not see it coming but Los Angeles certainly did as the Kings edged Predators, 5-4, Tuesday night, March 6, 2012, at the sold-out Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, for a third straight victory.
Predators were coming into the matchup looking to dominate Los Angeles like they did in their previous meeting on February 27, but to their surprise, Kings had the game plan set out.
"That was one of our more offensive games and certainly fun to play," Kings’ forward, Justin Williams, said. "Everyone was into it right off the start. We felt there was good chatter, there was good talk, guys were intense and we got a big win for it."
Justin Williams added two goals in the opening period, bringing up his total for this 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season to 15 now. Patric Hornqvist was the only Predators’ player to score.
Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn mimicked the opening period during the next 20-minute round but this time in favour of Nashville. Los Angeles’ top defenseman, Drew Doughty, scored the only Kings goal at 12:21 to keep them alive for the third.
Matt Greene added another LA goal in the opening minute of the third and Trevor Lewis secured the contest at 3:00 while Patric Hornqvist picked up his second of the night with less than six minutes remaining but Nashville failed to add the equaliser after
that.
Taking as many shots on the net was the aim of Los Angeles, which ultimately ended in Nashville having to take out their veteran goalie, Pekka Rinne, after he let five goals on 24 attempts.
"We wanted to make Rinne work tonight," Williams added. "We felt the last few games we haven't gotten as much shots on net as we should have. We tried to put as many as we could at him."
Los Angeles Kings are hot at the moment and aim at staying that way when they playoff against Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. The upcoming contests will be a must win for LA as they work towards securing a postseason spot.
Nashville Predators stay at home on the other hand to host Colorado Avalanche the same day.
Tags: