FINAL – Kings 4, Predators 2 – Turcotte, Lewis, Rittich, McLellan

The LA Kings picked up an important two points going into the NHL All-Star break, as they defeated the Nashville Predators by a 4-2 final on Wednesday evening at Bridgestone Arena.

The Kings opened the scoring through their fourth line, which scored the only goal of the first period. Forward Alex Turcotte made a stick lift in the neutral zone to spring forward Carl Grundstrom the other way off the rush. Grundstrom then worked his way into the right-hand circle and snapped his shot past Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros for his eighth goal of the season, his first since November 25, for a 1-0 advantage through 20 minutes.

Turcotte got in on the action again midway through the second period, as he scored his first career NHL goal to put the Kings up by a pair after 40 minutes of play. Forward Trevor Moore skated insicively into the heart of the Nashville defense, before sliding the puck to Turcotte on his left. The Illinois native collected and placed his shot past Saros, high on the blocker side, for the first goal and point of his NHL career and a 2-0 lead at the second intermission.

Just over five minutes into the third period, Nashville got on the board through forward Filip Forsberg, pulling the hosts to within a single goal. After the Kings successfully killed off a penalty, they were unable to clear the zone towards the end, with the Predators retaining puck possession and eventually converting, as Forsberg cashed in at the back post, pulling his team to a 2-1 score.

Later in the third, the Kings got the insurance goal that has eluded them several times over the last month, with Trevor Lewis the goalscorer to restore a two-goal advantage. Turcotte and forward Quinton Byfield won a board battle behind the Nashville net, with Byfield feeding Lewis in front, where he cashed in from point-blank range for his sixth goal of the season. Turcotte collected the secondary assist on the play, giving him a multi-point night.

Inside three minutes to play in regulation, the Predators once again pulled to within a single goal, this time at 3-2. Setup inside the offensive zone, defenseman Roman Josi threaded a pass through the slot to forward Philip Tomasino, who finished at the back post for his sixth goal of the season.

Forward Kevin Fiala iced the game late with the empty-net goal, as he won back the puck in the defensive end, fired the length of the ice and in for a 4-2 final.

Hear from Lewis, Turcotte, Rittich and Head Coach Todd McLellan following tonight’s win over Nashville.

Alex Turcotte
On the feeling of scoring his first career NHL goal
It was obviously really exciting, I kind of blacked out there for a little bit. Just a big relief and that was all Moorsie, he made a great play in the neutral zone and I just kind of found the opening. He got it to me and I just ripped it and I was fortunate for it to go in. It was awesome.

On what he felt his line did well tonight
I think we just played simple and brought a lot of energy. We’re all really tenacious out there and good on battles, we were buzzing out there. So, I think for us, we were just trying to keep it simple and we got rewarded tonight, took advantage of some of their breakdowns. It’s a lot of fun to get on board finally.

On seeing a veteran in Lewis grab the puck for him after his goal
That’s obviously really cool. You know, the guys have been great with me. I’ve been up and down for a couple years now, so I think they all kind of knew and to see how happy they were was obviously really special too. Just really cool. I’ll never forget it and it’s something I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.

Trevor Lewis
On the feeling of getting this win going into the All-Star break
It was a big game for us. We all could feel it. I mean, we’ve been struggling and I thought we didn’t make it easy on ourselves, but perseverance and everyone sticking together was big for us.

On the lack of quit in the group, despite recent results
Absolutely, I don’t think anyone’s quitting here at all. I think we’re all hungry to win here and we care. It’s just a fine line right now and mentally, that was a big one before the break for us.

On the play of his line tonight
I think just keep it simple. We wanted to bring some energy tonight and have positive shifts for our team. We got a few good chances there and it’s awesome to see Turcs get his first one, that’s a huge boost for the team too, everyone’s excited and Carl hadn’t scored for awhile either, so I’m sure he was pretty happy about that. It was a good night.

David Rittich
On showing the resilience to get this game over the line in the third period
We did a lot of good things, even in the past games, that didn’t end up well for us. So, we just tried to stick with that, stay positive, and we know we are a really good team. We have really good players and it was just about the time. It’s going to turn around and I hope this is the point.

On getting three goals from the fourth line tonight
It’s great. I mean, we all know that each of our lines can score, so you could see their confidence and how good of players they are.

On pulling through in the third period, despite facing a lot of shots against
It wasn’t an easy third period, but you’re 2-0 up after two and that’s what you can kind of expect. Obviously, we would like to have those two back, but as I said before we just move on. We take that win and after the break, we’ve just got to prepare ourselves for hard work and winning the games.

Todd McLellan

Notes –
– Alex Turcotte (1-1=2) scored both his first career goal and assist for his first multi-point game in the NHL. Turcotte becomes the third Kings skater to record their first NHL goal this season, joining Alex Laferriere (1G, Oct. 21, 2023, vs. BOS) and Andreas Englund (1G, Oct. 31, 2023, at TOR). With the goal, Turcotte becomes the fourth active Kings skater selected in the 2019 NHL Draft to score a goal with the Kings, joining Samuel Fagemo (2), Jordan Spence (2) and Arthur Kaliyev (34).
– Carl Grundstrom (1-0=1) tallied his first career point against Nashville for his eighth goal of the season, marking his third consecutive season scoring eight or more goals through the first 48 games. Grundstrom (40) joins Viktor Arvidsson (46), Tomas Sandstrom (117), Juha Widing (131) and Adrian Kempe (148) as the fifth Swedish-born skater to score 40 or more goals in Kings franchise history.
– Trevor Lewis (1-0=1) registered his sixth goal of the season for his second point in as many games (1-1=2). It is Lewis’ second two-game point streak this season (1-1=2; Oct. 21-24, 2023). With the goal, Lewis now sits four tallies shy of the 100-mark in his NHL career.
– Kevin Fiala (1-0=1) collected his 13th goal for his 43rd point of the campaign (13-40=43), tying Adrian Kempe (17-26=43) for the team lead in scoring.
– Trevor Moore (0-1=1) recorded up his 14th helper of the season and his second in as many games. Moore has now accumulated 26 points (14-12=26) on the road this season, tying Anze Kopitar (9-17=26) for the team lead in road scoring.
– Jordan Spence (0-1=1) picked up his 15th assist of the season. Spence becomes just the fourth blueliner from the 2019 NHL Draft class in to record 15 assists in a season, joining Thomas Harley (1x), Cameron York (1x), and Moritz Seider (3x).
– Quinton Byfield (0-1=1) notched his 21st assist of the season, extending his assist streak to a third game and his point streak to a fourth game (2-3=5).
– Philip Danault (0-1=1) picked up his 20th assist of the season. It is Danault’s third straight 20-assist season with the Kings and the sixth of his NHL career.
– Mikey Anderson (0-1=1) recorded his 14th assist for his 15th point of the season (1-14=15), marking his second straight 15-point season with the Kings (5-15=20, 2022-23). Anderson’s (2017) two 15-point seasons are tied for the fourth-most such seasons by a defenseman selected in the fourth round of the NHL Draft in franchise history, behind only L’ubomir Visnovsky (2000, 7x), Alec Martinez (2007, 7x) and Rob Blake (1988, 11x).
– David Rittich stopped 39 of 41 shots to earn his fifth victory of the season and improve his record to 5-1-3.

The Kings will travel back to Los Angeles following tonight’s game, heading into the NHL All-Star break. The team will return to the ice for practice on Thursday, February 8 at 2 PM at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo. The Kings will return to game action on February 10 at Crypto.com Arena against the Edmonton Oilers.