Game 72 Preview: Los Angeles at Nashville

Los Angeles Kings (44-22-5) at Nashville Predators (36-23-13)
Monday, March 21, 2016, 5 p.m. PT
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
Referees: #36 Dean Morton, #5 Chris Rooney
Linesmen: #76 Michel Cormier, #83 Matt MacPherson
FOX Sports West, KABC 790 AM, I Heart Radio

Los Angeles Projected Starting Goaltender – Jonathan Quick
2015-16: 58 GP (58 GS) / 37-17-4 record / 2.14 GAA / .921 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Nashville: 14 (14) / 4-7-2 / 2.77 / .894 / 0
Last Game vs Nashville: 2/20/16 / 61 MP / 33-34 shots / 2-1 OTW
2015-16, Away: 24 (24) / 16-6-2 / 2.01 / .934 / 3

Nashville Projected Starting Goaltender – Pekka Rinne
2015-16: 58 GP (58 GS) / 29-19-10 record / 2.43 GAA / .910 Sv% / 4 SHO
Career vs Los Angeles: 19 (19) / 10-6-3 / 2.82 / .892 / 1
Last Game vs Los Angeles: 2/20/16 / 61 MP / 28-30 shots / 1-2 OTL
2015-16, Home: 31 (31) / 17-9-5 / 2.26 / .892 / 4

2015-16 Los Angeles Leaders
Total Points: Anze Kopitar (24-41=65)
Goals: Tyler Toffoli (26-22=48)
Assists: Anze Kopitar (24-41=65)
Plus/Minus: Anze Kopitar (+31; 24-41=65)
Penalty Minutes: Brayden McNabb (84; 2-7=9)
Time On Ice: Drew Doughty (28:12; 13-32=45)
Corsi-For Percentage: Nick Shore (61.0%; 3-7=10)

2015-16 Nashville Leaders
Total Points: Filip Forsberg (29-24=53)
Goals: Filip Forsberg (29-24=53)
Assists: Roman Josi (11-40=51)
Plus/Minus: James Neal (+22; 27-19=46)
Penalty Minutes: Barret Jackman (69; 1-4=5)
Time On Ice: Roman Josi (25:21; 11-40=51)
Corsi-For Percentage: Mike Ribeiro (56.5%; 7-40=47)

Rankings and Statistics
Goals/Game: LAK – 12 / 2.73; NSH – 13 / 2.69
Goals Against/Game: LAK – 1 / 2.23; NSH – 13 / 2.56
Power Play: LAK – 7 / 21.1%; NSH – 10 / 19.6%
Penalty Kill: LAK – 14 / 81.5%; NSH – 20 / 80.6%
Shots/Game: LAK – 3 / 32.0; NSH – t-9 / 30.4
Shots Against/Game: LAK – t-4 / 27.7; NSH – t-1 / 27.3
Faceoffs: LAK – 10 / 50.4%; NSH – 24 / 49.3%
Save Percentage: LAK – 2 / .920; NSH – t-22 / .906
Corsi-for Percentage: LAK – 1 / 55.9% / NSH – 4 / 52.6%

Los Angeles Projected Lines

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford – Jeff Carter – Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson – Vincent Lecavalier – Trevor Lewis
Dwight King – Nick Shore – Andy Andreoff

Rob Scuderi – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb – Luke Schenn

Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth

Notes and milestones: Los Angeles is 31-24-8 all-time against Nashville, a record that includes a road mark of 16-10-5. … The Kings are 24-13-2 against the Western Conference and 10-4-2 against the Central Division. … Los Angeles has won four games in a row and has points in seven straight games (6-0-1). … Jonathan Quick, who was named the NHL’s second star of the week, is two wins shy of his career-high 39 wins, established in 2009-10. His .894 save percentage against Nashville is the second lowest out of any NHL opponent (Winnipeg / .882). … Anze Kopitar has points in five straight games (4-3=7). He has 13 points (6-7=13) in the last 10 games. His +31 rating ranks second in the league. …Tyler Toffoli ranks third in the league with a +30 rating. … With 30 assists, Jake Muzzin is one assist shy of his career-high of 31 assists, set last season. … Alec Martinez has nine goals, two shy of his career-high of 11, set in 2013-14. His four game-winning goals are tied for fourth in the league amongst defensemen. … Luke Schenn has an assist in each of the last two games and four points (0-4=4) in the last four games. … Nick Shore is expected to play in his 99th career game. …Jeff Carter has 14 goals and 23 points in 21 career games against Nashville.

Nashville Projected Lines

Calle Jarnkrok – Ryan Johansen – James Neal
Filip Forsberg – Mike Ribeiro – Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki – Mike Fisher – Viktor Arvidsson
Colin Wilson – Colton Sissons – Eric Nystrom

Roman Josi – Shea Weber
Barret Jackman – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – Petter Granberg

Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton

Notes and milestones: Predators lineup courtesy of NashvillePredators.com … Nashville is expected to be without Anthony Bitetto (lower-body), Paul Gaustad (upper-body) and Gabriel Bourque (upper-body). Eric Nystrom is expected to return to the lineup from a foot injury and play his first game since January 26. … The Predators are 11-2-5 in their last 18 games. … Goaltender Pekka Rinne is 9-1-2 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .937 save percentage over his last 12 games. His career .892 save percentage against Los Angeles is the third lowest out of any NHL opponent (Ottawa / .884; Pittsburgh / .879). … Predators defensemen lead the league with 46 goals. … Since 2010-11, Shea Weber’s 99 goals lead all NHL defensemen, while his 271 points rank fifth. With 163 career goals, he is currently tied with Martin Erat for second place on the franchise’s all-time goals list. David Legwand (210 goals) is the franchise’s all-time leader. … James Neal has 398 career points (211-187=398). When he reaches 400 points, he will become the fifth member of the 2005 NHL Draft class to do so (Crosby-927, Kopitar-675, Stastny-543, Ryan-443). … Nashville has not allowed a power play goal in the last seven games, killing off all 22 power plays over that span. … Mike Ribeiro is the only active NHL skater to record at least 45 points in each of the last 12 seasons.