Kings at Predators
The Nashville Predators look to snap their season-high three-game losing streak without two key players in the lineup when they face the league-worst Los Angeles Kings on Saturday in the opener of their three-game homestand. Defenseman P.K. Subban (upper body) will miss his second straight game while Viktor Arvidsson (thumb) has been ruled out for about 6-to-8 weeks as the Predators are mired in a 0-2-1 stretch.
“It’s a blow,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette told reporters of Arvidsson’s injury. “He’s a guy that is an engine for our team. He does a lot of good things and plays in a lot of situations. … It is an opportunity for somebody to step up.” The Predators swept last season's three-game series against Los Angeles, which snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win at Chicago on Friday as Ilya Kovalchuk and captain Anze Kopitar converted in the bonus format. The Kings were down to fourth-string goaltender Cal Petersen in the Windy City after veteran Peter Budaj missed the game due to illness, and the former Notre Dame standout turned aside 34 shots in his first career start. Los Angeles defenseman Dion Phaneuf is slated to play in his 1,000th NHL game Saturday after registering his first point (assist) of the season Tuesday and posting a plus-1 rating against Chicago.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE KINGS (6-11-1): Los Angeles is last in the league in scoring and Kovalchuk in the only player with more than 10 points on the season (14). Tyler Toffoli scored the only goal for the Kings in Friday’s win to tie for second on the team in scoring with defenseman Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter at 10 points. Kopitar ended the game with a nifty shootout goal, but the veteran center is mired in a five-game point drought after posting one in three consecutive contests and has scored four times overall - with half of the tallies coming in the first two games of the season.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (13-5-1): Nashville owns the best record in the Western Conference but is dead last in the league on the power play at 10.8 percent after going 0-for-15 over the last three contests. “We’ve got to score on the power play,” Nashville center Nick Bonino told reporters. “We’re close, really close. We’re doing the right things, but they’re just not going in.” Linemates Filip Forsberg (team-best 12 goals) and Ryan Johansen (team-high 15 assists) lead the team with 18 points apiece while Bonino (plus-12 rating) scored his first goal on Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles C Trevor Lewis suffered a fractured foot during Friday's morning skate and is out indefinitely.
2. Nashville LW Austin Watson notched an assist in his season debut on Thursday after serving an 18-game suspension for domestic violence.
3. The Kings are 0-for-9 with the man advantage over their last four games and have allowed four power-play tallies in the same span.