The Nashville Predators were once again able to count on their Swiss captain on Saturday Roman Josie leave. In their comeback to a 5-3 home win against the Los Angeles Kings, the defender prepared three goals. The Predators continue to be close to the wildcard spots in the race to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference.
“Today we were hungry, we had passion,” said Nashville coach John Hynes. “The whole team performed well and everyone gave what they could. It was a good game. It was a good response to defeat and I think we can take a few lessons from here to build on. “
Nashville got off to a great start and went through after just 19 seconds Mikael Granlund in the lead. Just 20 seconds later increased Matt Duchene on submission by Josi already to 2:0. It was only the 15th time in the NHL’s more than 100-year history that a team had taken a two-goal lead in the first 39 seconds.
After that, the Kings hit with goals from Sean Durzi (10.), Adrian Kempe (27.) and Quinton Byfield (38′; PP) back and turned the game around. “The second third was tough for us,” admitted Duchene. “The Kings played well and were a bit lucky with goals, but we kept going. It was an important win for us and I think we’ll just take what made us successful today and use it as a lesson for the next watch game.”
In the final section, Josi initiated Nashville’s comeback when, outnumbered, he equalized on the power play with Granlund Ryan Johansen prepared (49th). It was just the Predators’ second goal in 26 power plays over the past nine games.
“That was important,” Hynes said. “It was a key moment of the game. The lads delivered. It’s a typical example of a situation where you need results from your power play. They delivered and that made a big difference.”
Duchene (54th) regained the lead and Cole Smith (57.) deflected a shot from Josi to score his first NHL goal and make it 5-3.
Video: LAK@NSH: Smith raises late in the third third
Josi was the central figure in a game with strong Swiss involvement. However, both his teammate went Nino Niederreiteras well as Kings forward Kevin Fiala blank. Fiala was responsible for seven of his team’s 34 shots, but failed again and again to the goalkeeper Hair in Saros.
Josis offensive qualities are nothing new. Not for nothing did he win the Norris Trophy for the best defenseman in the NHL in 2020 and was a finalist for the award in 2022. He has been the Predators’ top scorer for the past three seasons and, with 581 points (152 goals, 429 assists), is the Swiss with the most points in NHL history. This season he has his sights set on the team’s internal scorer title again. Due to the strong performance on Saturday, he drew with 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists). Filip Forsberg right in first place. He is the seventh-best scorer and fourth-best goalscorer among all defenders in the league.
With his reliability, Josi is a key figure in the Predators’ fight for a place in the playoffs. Since December 21, he has never failed to score in two consecutive games and has scored in 12 of 16 matches.
For Nashville, the win against the Kings was the third win in the past four games. With 50 points (22-18-6) in 46 games, they are three points behind the Colorado Avalanche and the second wild card. For Fiala and the Kings, the journey is currently going in the opposite direction. They suffered their third loss in a row against the Predators and slipped from third place in the Pacific Division to first wildcard spot in the West with 56 points (25-17-6) from 48 games. Further losses could drop them from the playoff ranks, because behind Colorado, who only have 44 games under their belt, the Predators and the Calgary Flames lurk, level on points with Colorado, albeit with 47 games.
“At times like this, when you lose three games in a row, you have to start with yourself,” explained the Kings captain Anze Kopitar. “If everyone improves their game just a little bit, we become a lot better as a team. You have to start with yourself and then build on that, then you can help each other.”
The Kings have to play the Chicago Blackhawks as early as Sunday (7 pm ET; NHL.tv; Mon. 1 a.m. CET) and are hoping for an end to the losing streak there. The Predators get to enjoy the victory for two days. However, they have a difficult test ahead of them on Tuesday (8 pm ET; NHL.tv; Wed. 2 pm CET) with the Winnipeg Jets at the Bridgestone Arena. After all, the Jets are the second-best team in the entire Western Conference with 61 points.