Predators top Kings as Duchene scores shootout winner

LOS ANGELES –– The Kings failed to keep pace with the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights Saturday when they fell to the Nashville Predators 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena Saturday in a shootout.

The Kings, who played their first of seven straight home games Saturday, finished the night trailing the Golden Knights by one point, with Vegas holding a game in hand after they shut out the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 Saturday. The Kings had won a season-best five straight games heading into the showdown.

Defenseman Mikey Anderson scored the Kings’ only goal through 65 minutes.  Pheonix Copley made 29 saves.

The Kings were without leading scorer Kevin Fiala (lower-body) and defenseman Sean Durzi (upper-body). Fiala absorbed a knee-on-knee collision with Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano Saturday, limiting his participation in the Kings’ victory. Durzi received a massive check from Washington winger T.J. Oshie on Monday and has not played since.

Center Tommy Novak tallied for Nashville in regulation before forward Matt Duchene deposited the solitary goal of the shootout. Kevin Lankinen stopped 26 shots.

In overtime, Nashville forward Phillip Tomasino had a sterling chance but he missed the puck not once but twice as he attempted to stickhandle into a shot during a partial breakaway. Tomasino would hit the net with a shot as time was expiring, but Copley met the challenge.

With 2:37 to play, forward Quinton Byfield drew a penalty on winger Yakov Trenin, but the Kings failed to convert on the ensuing power-play opportunity.

With 6:40 left in the match, winger Adrian Kempe’s roughing penalty sent Nashville to the power play in a tie game. Nashville attempted seven shots during their man advantage, two of which went wide, one of which was blocked by Vladislav Gavrikov and four of which were denied by Copley.

The two teams were knotted at one through 40 minutes, despite some near misses for the Kings. Perhaps the closest call was winger Viktor Arvidsson’s shot that got under and through Lankinen. The Kings’ top line produced just one shot on goal through the second intermission.

Nashville had leveled the score with 55 seconds remaining in the first period. They scored just four seconds into a power play that saw them win the draw straight back to Novak for a tally from the point.

Approaching the midpoint of the first period, the Kings struck first when an offensive-zone start proved fortuitous. Off a scrambled draw, three Kings forwards and all five Nashville defenders vied for the puck. Winger Gabe Vilardi slid it across to Anderson, who had crept down from the left point to the slot to score his fourth goal of the season and his second in three games.