Scouting the Predators

[UPDATE: Jonathan Bernier took the ice first for warmups, so he will be the starter…]

This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Kings and the Nashville Predators. It follows the Kings’ 4-3 win in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, the Predators’ 2-1 win in Nashville on Feb. 27 and the Kings’ 5-4 win in Nashville on March 6. All of those games, of course, were one-goal games. The Kings have been competitive against Nashville because, for the most part, they’ve been able to keep the Predators’ top-ranked power play off the scoreboard. In the teams’ first three meetings, the Kings are 9-for-10 on the penalty kill. The Predators are securely in a playoff spot, and trail Central Division-leading St. Louis by eight points, but the Predators still have a lot for which to play. The Predators are only one point behind fourth-place Detroit, and fourth place would mean home-ice advantage in at least the first round. The Predators are 4-1-1 in their last six games and are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to San Jose on Thursday. For the latest on the Predators, check out the coverage from The Tennessean, followed by the possible lineups for the Kings and the Predators…

The Tennessean’s Predators coverage

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KINGS LINEUP
Dustin Brown-Anze Kopitar-Justin Williams
Dwight King-Mike Richards-Jeff Carter
Dustin Penner-Jarret Stoll-Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford-Colin Fraser-Jordan Nolan

Rob Scuderi-Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell-Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez-Matt Greene

Jonathan Bernier
Jonathan Quick

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PREDATORS LINEUP
Sergei Kostitsyn-Mike Fisher-Martin Erat
Andrei Kostitsyn-David Legwand-Patric Hornqvist
Colin Wilson-Nick Spaling-Jordin Tootoo
Brandon Yip-Matt Halischuk-Craig Smith

Shea Weber-Ryan Suter
Jack Hillen-Hal Gill
Francis Bouillon-Kevin Klein

Pekka Rinne
Anders Lindback