Mike Richards and Simon Gagne scored goals 3:05 apart midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings halted their five-game losing streak with a 4-3 home victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Defensemen Alec Martinez and Drew Doughty also tallied while Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll and Dustin Penner notched two assists apiece for the Kings, who have won five of six meetings with Nashville.
Patric Hornqvist extended his goal-scoring streak to a franchise record-tying six games for the Predators, who fell to 2-1-1 on their season-high five-game road trip. Hornqvist matched the mark shared by J.P. Dumont and Alexander Radulov, who both had six-game runs in 2007-08.
Richards received a cross-slot pass from captain Dustin Brown and beat Anders Lindback from the right faceoff circle 9 1/2 minutes into the second for a 3-2 lead. Gagne doubled the advantage just over three minutes later, when he tipped Penner's blast from the left circle past Lindback.
Los Angeles also had a two-goal lead in the first period as Martinez and Doughty scored in a 1:44 span. But Matt Halischuk and Craig Smith answered later in the session to forge a 2-2 tie.
Lindback made 26 saves in his first start of the season for the Predators, who had won six of seven in Los Angeles. Pekka Rinne started the club's first 13 contests.
Nashville | Los Angeles | |
Matt Halischuk 1 | Points | Jarret Stoll 2 |
Matt Halischuk 1 | Goals | Drew Doughty 1 |
Martin Erat 1 | Assists | Jarret Stoll 2 |
Craig Smith 1 | Power Play Goals | Alec Martinez 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Anders Lindback .867 | Save Percentage | Jonathan Bernier .900 |
Anders Lindback 26 | Saves | Jonathan Bernier 27 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Nashville | 30 | 3 | 1-6 | 5-6 | 14 | 26 |
Los Angeles | 30 | 4 | 1-6 | 5-6 | 14 | 33 |