Predators Defeat Kings
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg are difficult enough to stop at even strength. On the power play, they become almost impossible to contain.
Kariya scored twice, Forsberg had three assists, and the Nashville Predators beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory. They are 5-1-1 in the seven games since acquiring Forsberg from Philadelphia on Feb. 15.
"A year ago, would you ever think that Peter Forsberg would be available at the trade deadline? I wouldn't, and I don't think too many people around the league would think that," Kariya said. "He's the ultimate professional and he makes players around him better. There's no higher a compliment that you can give a player that that. I've never seen him take a shift off."
Defenseman Shea Weber recorded his first two-goal game in the NHL and J.P. Dumont had a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL contest. Marek Zidlicky scored one of three power-play goals by the Western Conference-leading Predators, who took a two-point lead over idle Detroit in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Nashville has scored nine times with the man advantage in its past six games after going 0-for-19 over the previous five.
"Their good players ate us up, especially in power play situations," said Kings coach Marc Crawford, whose team has the worst penalty-killing percentage in the league. "We took seven penalties. And when you give them opportunities that allow them to get their best players on the ice, you're playing a dangerous game."
Michael Cammalleri scored twice and Jamie Lundmark also had a goal for the Kings. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and rookie Anze Kopitar, two of the team's top-four point producers this season, sat out with unspecified injuries.
"They traded a few guys away and a few guys are hurt, but the guys who played for them played real well," Forsberg said. "They kind of have nothing left to play for, but they played really hard and they definitely could have won the game if we didn't score those power play goals."
The Kings tied the game for the second time at 14:05 of the second period, as Rob Blake got a cross-ice pass from Derek Armstrong and found Cammalleri alone in front of the crease. Cammalleri put the Kings ahead for the first time during a goal-mouth scramble with 14:53 left in the third.
It was his career-high 27th goal and extended the Kings' streak to nine games with at least one power-play goal.
But Kariya tied the game with 14:13 to play, beating Sean Burke high to the glove side with a one-timer from 20 feet. Zidlicky put the Predators ahead to stay on a one-timer from the left circle with 10:21 remaining and Blake off for tripping.
"We were having a tough time getting into their zone in the first two periods, but we moved the puck around really well in the third," Kariya said. "They're really tough to play against. They don't give you much room when it's 5-on-5 and they make you take it to the outside. But we did a good job staying calm and letting our power play do the work."
Dumont and Kariya capped Nashville's four-goal third period. Kariya has 22 goals this season and 31 career goals against Los Angeles, the most he's scored against any team. The Predators are 18-1-0 when he scores.
The Predators outshot Los Angeles 14-4 in the first period, but had to settle for a 1-0 lead. The Kings thwarted Nashville's first two power plays before Weber scored on the third with a 20-foot wrist shot at 18:11 while Jaroslav Modry was off for hooking.
The Kings tied it at 3:36 of the second period on Lundmark's fourth goal. But Weber scored again less than three minutes later, snapping off a one-timer that deflected in off the front of defenseman Mike Weaver's jersey. It was Weber's 13th goal, the most among Nashville defensemen and five shy of Andy Delmore's single-season club record for that position.
Notes: Weber is the first Nashville defenseman to score two goals in a game this season. ... Predators C Jason Arnott sat out because of flu-like symptoms. ... The Kings, coming off victories over Colorado (shootout) and Anaheim (overtime), have not won three consecutive games since a five-game streak that ended on March 7, 2006. ... Eleven of the Kings' final 17 games are on the road, including the next four. ... Nashville won the season series 4-1.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg are difficult enough to stop at even strength. On the power play, they become almost impossible to contain.
Kariya scored twice, Forsberg had three assists, and the Nashville Predators beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory. They are 5-1-1 in the seven games since acquiring Forsberg from Philadelphia on Feb. 15.
"A year ago, would you ever think that Peter Forsberg would be available at the trade deadline? I wouldn't, and I don't think too many people around the league would think that," Kariya said. "He's the ultimate professional and he makes players around him better. There's no higher a compliment that you can give a player that that. I've never seen him take a shift off."
Defenseman Shea Weber recorded his first two-goal game in the NHL and J.P. Dumont had a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL contest. Marek Zidlicky scored one of three power-play goals by the Western Conference-leading Predators, who took a two-point lead over idle Detroit in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Nashville has scored nine times with the man advantage in its past six games after going 0-for-19 over the previous five.
"Their good players ate us up, especially in power play situations," said Kings coach Marc Crawford, whose team has the worst penalty-killing percentage in the league. "We took seven penalties. And when you give them opportunities that allow them to get their best players on the ice, you're playing a dangerous game."
Michael Cammalleri scored twice and Jamie Lundmark also had a goal for the Kings. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and rookie Anze Kopitar, two of the team's top-four point producers this season, sat out with unspecified injuries.
"They traded a few guys away and a few guys are hurt, but the guys who played for them played real well," Forsberg said. "They kind of have nothing left to play for, but they played really hard and they definitely could have won the game if we didn't score those power play goals."
The Kings tied the game for the second time at 14:05 of the second period, as Rob Blake got a cross-ice pass from Derek Armstrong and found Cammalleri alone in front of the crease. Cammalleri put the Kings ahead for the first time during a goal-mouth scramble with 14:53 left in the third.
It was his career-high 27th goal and extended the Kings' streak to nine games with at least one power-play goal.
But Kariya tied the game with 14:13 to play, beating Sean Burke high to the glove side with a one-timer from 20 feet. Zidlicky put the Predators ahead to stay on a one-timer from the left circle with 10:21 remaining and Blake off for tripping.
"We were having a tough time getting into their zone in the first two periods, but we moved the puck around really well in the third," Kariya said. "They're really tough to play against. They don't give you much room when it's 5-on-5 and they make you take it to the outside. But we did a good job staying calm and letting our power play do the work."
Dumont and Kariya capped Nashville's four-goal third period. Kariya has 22 goals this season and 31 career goals against Los Angeles, the most he's scored against any team. The Predators are 18-1-0 when he scores.
The Predators outshot Los Angeles 14-4 in the first period, but had to settle for a 1-0 lead. The Kings thwarted Nashville's first two power plays before Weber scored on the third with a 20-foot wrist shot at 18:11 while Jaroslav Modry was off for hooking.
The Kings tied it at 3:36 of the second period on Lundmark's fourth goal. But Weber scored again less than three minutes later, snapping off a one-timer that deflected in off the front of defenseman Mike Weaver's jersey. It was Weber's 13th goal, the most among Nashville defensemen and five shy of Andy Delmore's single-season club record for that position.
Notes: Weber is the first Nashville defenseman to score two goals in a game this season. ... Predators C Jason Arnott sat out because of flu-like symptoms. ... The Kings, coming off victories over Colorado (shootout) and Anaheim (overtime), have not won three consecutive games since a five-game streak that ended on March 7, 2006. ... Eleven of the Kings' final 17 games are on the road, including the next four. ... Nashville won the season series 4-1.
