FINAL – Kings 3, Predators 0 – Kuemper, Moore, Hiller

The LA Kings held the Nashville Predators to just 16 shots on goal to record the team’s first shutout win of the season by a 3-0 score at Bridgestone Arena on Monday night. Darcy Kuemper stopped each of the shots that came his way, securing the 32nd shutout of his NHL career.

All of the Kings goals came from forwards, with captain Anze Kopitar opening the scoring in the first, before Kevin Fiala extended the lead in the opening minute of the third and Adrian Kempe capped off the victory with an empty-net strike.

The Kings got on the board first with the lone goal of the opening period when Kopitar scored his fifth tally of the year. The captain led a rush into the offensive end down the left wing and eventually converted after Brandt Clarke fed the puck on net from the top of the right circle and it bounced off the right pad of Juuse Saros. The rebound made it to Kopitar’s stick and he banked it past the goal line off the opposing goaltender.

Kempe also factored into the play, earning the second assist for his first of a team-high two points on the night. Kopitar continues to lead the Kings in scoring this season with 14 points.

After allowing just two chances on net in the first 11:22 of the game, LA went into the first intermission break with the 1-0 lead and a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

The teams then played a scoreless second period which saw the Kings block a total of nine shots in front of Kuemper.

Fiala added to the lead 35 seconds into the third, netting his sixth goal of the year from linemates Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore. Fiala brought the puck down the right wing on a 2-on-1 and fed the puck to Danault in front for a look on net. The rebound off Danault’s initial attempt bounced off Saros’ left bad and right to Fiala, who snapped it home to make it a 2-0 game.

The Kings continued to play shutdown defense throughout the third period, going the first 16 minutes of the final frame without allowing a shot on goal.

Nashville finally got its first chance on net as they pulled Saros in exchange for an extra attacker with 3:54 to play. But the Predators were unable to solve Kuemper in the brief moments before Kempe sealed the victory into an empty net for LA with his fifth goal of the season from Trevor Lewis and Vladislav Gavrikov at 17:02.

Neither side converted on the power play, with the Kings killing off all three Nashville advantages and finishing 0-for-4 themselves. Saros finished the contest with a total of 18 saves in a losing effort.

More on tonight’s win below from Kuemper, Moore and Kings head coach Jim Hiller –

Darcy Kuemper
On how he felt during the game
That’s a that’s a team shutout right there. We played such a complete game tonight. That’s a big, physical team on the other end and we answered, if not dictated, every step of the way. It was just great to see us have that long travel yesterday and come out with an effort like this.

On his team blocking a lot of shots in front of him
Just guys working hard, working together. That’s a skilled team that tries to make a lot of little plays, and we were there breaking them up all night. I think that’s why the shock totals were so low. And then, we were able to play a lot of hockey down in their end as well. It was great to play behind tonight. It was a lot of fun just watching the guys work the way they do.

On maintaining focus and getting wins on the road
Just being new to the group, it’s nice to start with so many road trips, because you really get to bond as a group and that’s when you spend the most time together. It’s challenging. You don’t want to fall behind the eight ball too fast in the season. But we’ve done the opposite, and it’s really allowed us to kind of build our chemistry, build our bond within the room, and establish the way we want to play all year.

Trevor Moore
On what contributed to the shutout performance
Darcy played great, number one. We had some breakdowns, but I thought for the most part, we were pretty solid. They got behind us a couple times, but it was a heavy game out there and I thought some of our new guys, (Jeannot) and (Burroughs), really stepped up and set the tone for us.

On Fiala’s goal, which he assisted on
Just kind of chaos on the boards there just trying to advance it and just try to keep moving it up and they made a good play.

On the way he and his line have played of late
It seems like we just had to stick with it. This game can be frustrating sometimes, and you’ve got to keep pushing and stay committed. We know each other well, we’re good buddies and we just try to stick with the program and keep pushing.

On what it’s been like having Kuemper join the group
I mean he’s obviously a really good goalie. Familiarity with some of the guys here, and a good guy in the room so we’re lucky to have him.

Jim Hiller
On the team’s commitment to defense in the win
It was really good. I mean, we played hard. They’re physical too. We saw a couple fights, big hits. So it’s not an easy game to play, you’ve got to be into it. You’ve got to be sharp. And we were.

On Kuemper’s performance
He looked really good. I mean, he didn’t have a lot of work. But they had, I think, at least three grade A chances that could have turned the game either way, and he was there to make every save. Those were the big ones. Sometimes it’s not how many, it’s the big ones at the right time.

On the goal from Fiala coming in the first minute of the third
That was a big one for sure. Because they’re going to have a push, they always are. They’re at home, you’re gonna have a push and that one, I think that one broke their back just a little bit.

Notes –
• Forward Anze Kopitar (1-0=1) scored his fifth goal of the season in the first period, extending his point streak to a season-long third
game (2-3=5). The captain’s tally marked his 70th career game-opening goal, which surpassed Luc Robitaille (69) and tied Marcel
Dionne (70) for the most in franchise history.
• As the Kings secured the shutout, Kopitar’s opening tally stands as tonight’s game-winner, marking the 74th of his career. With the goal, Kopitar breaks a tie with Robitaille (73) for sole possession of the most game-winning goals in franchise history.
• Kopitar has recorded three of those game-clinching tallies through the first 13 games of this season, more than any other skater in the
NHL.
• Forward Kevin Fiala (1-0=1) extended his point streak to a fourth game (2-4=6) with his sixth goal of the season.
• The Swiss winger has now notched points in each of his past four matchups against Nashville and has recorded a total of 10 points (7-
4=10) against the team that drafted him (11th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft in 15 contests.
• Forward Phillip Danault (0-1=1) registered his fifth assist of the season for his third point in the past two games. Danault extends his
road point and assist streak in Bridgestone Arena to a third game (0-3=3) dating back to Jan. 21, 2023.
• Forward Trevor Moore (0-1=1) collected his fourth helper of the campaign with an assist on Fiala’s tally. Moore records his second
assist in as many games as well as his second in as many road games.
• Forward Adrian Kempe (1-1=2) registered his fifth goal and seventh assist of the season to record his team-leading fifth multi-point
game this season.
• Defenseman Brandt Clarke (0-1=1) picked up his 11th assist of the campaign. Only Winnipeg’s Josh Morrisey (13) and Colorado’s Cale
Makar (16) have recorded more assists among blueliners this season.
• Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (0-1=1) tallied his fourth helper of the year while forward Trevor Lewis (0-1=1) picked up his second
assist of the season on Kempe’s empty-netter.
• Goaltender Darcy Kuemper turned aside all 16 of the Predators’ shots on goal to record the Kings’ first shutout victory of the campaign.
• Per NHL PR, Kuemper extended his season-opening point streak to seven games (4-0-3), which is the fifth longest in franchise history.
He trails Rogie Vachon (11 GP: 7-0-4 in 1974-75), Robb Stauber (10 GP: 9-0-1 in 1992-93), Martin Jones (8 GP: 8-0-0 in 2013-14) and
Jonathan Quick (8 GP: 6-0-2 in 2011-12). Kuemper also extends his point streak against the Nashville Predators to a sixth game (4-0-2),
dating back to Nov. 15, 2018 (w/ ARI).

The Kings will return to action tomorrow against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center at 5  p.m PST. The team will not hold a morning skate before the contest.