THE Nashville Predators squandered a 2-0 lead on the Los Angeles Kings, but Nick Blankenburg scored 1:03 into overtime to propel Nashville to a 3-2 victory Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
Goaltender Justus Annunen made 22 saves to earn his second straight victory with the Predators. With this overtime victory, Nashville now has a three-game point streak (2-0-1) and improves to 10-17-7 on the season.
How the Predators lined up against Los Angeles
Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
L’Heureux-O’Reilly-Nyquist
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
Smith-McCarron-Sissons
Lauzon-Josi
Skjei-Blankenburg
Wilsby-Schenn
Announcements
Saros
Extra: Pärssinen, Barron
Roman Josi was activated from IR after missing the previous four games with a lower body injury. Justin Barron, acquired Wednesday evening in a trade that sent Alexandre Carrier to Montreal Canadiensarrived in Nashville on Thursday afternoon and did not report to the Predators for Saturday’s game.
Annunen, acquired via trade from the Colorado Avalanche in late November, made his first home start for the Predators.
Game Summary
After what could hardly be described as an inspiring start from both teams, Gustav Nyquist got things going for the Predators with a nice backhand pass in front of the net to Zachary L’Heureux, who tapped it in to give a 1-0 lead in Nashville. at 14:16 of the first period.
Josi wasted no time making an impact upon his return to the lineup, assisting on Jonathan Marchessault’s goal in the 14th minute of the second period. With some impressive stickhandling, Josi swung around two Kings defenders and slid the puck across the crease to Marchessault, who knocked it in to extend Nashville’s lead to 2-0 .
Quinton Byfield spoiled the shutout midway through the third period to bring the Kings within one point. Alex Laferrière scored the tying goal for Los Angeles on a rebound of Joel Edmundson’s shot from the point on a delayed penalty kick at 13:23 of the third period.
A little more than a minute into overtime, Blankenburg found the rebound of Filip Forsberg’s shot below the goal line and backhanded it into the open net to win it for Nashville.
Takeaways and Key Notes
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L’Heureux had an assist in Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, so his first-period goal against the Kings gave him the first point streak of his NHL career.
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With a goal in the second period, Marchessault scored a goal in three consecutive games and extended his point streak to six games. He has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) during this period.
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Blankenburg’s OT game winner was the first of his career.
Following
The Predators wrap up their four-game homestand Monday, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at Bridgestone Arena. Puck drops at 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and NHL Network.
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