Third Period Rally Falls Short As Kings Lose To Predators

Los Angeles, once again, got off to a terrible start in the first period against a potential Western Conference playoff contender. Nashville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and extended its lead to 4-1 in the middle of the second period. It looked like another blowout loss was on the horizon for Los Angeles, but the Kings played a valiant effort in the second period to cut the deficit to 4-3.

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Turnovers, missed shots, and defensive lapses plagued the Kings from the jump, allowing the Predators to take the lead. Still, despite the mistakes Los Angeles made early on, they made up for it in the third period, but couldn’t make up for it down the stretch.

Both teams struggled on the power play, combining to go 0-for-5, and Los Angeles won the faceoff battle 55.4% to the Predators’ 44.6%.

It was a hot offensive start for the Predators early. The Kings had no answer to the rush, giving up goals on fast-break possessions and turning the puck over. Three minutes into the first period, Nashville jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead after a faceoff win and a beautiful puck play by forward Zachary L’Hereux to give Nashville the 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

It was a terrible first period for the Kings, getting outshot 18-9, looking like one of those games where nothing goes right for them at home.

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The second period began immediately, with Nashville continuing where they left off, scoring two minutes into the period after converting on the missed shot. Nashville scored on the rebound to hold a commanding 3-0 lead.

Los Angeles finally got a goal to go, a contact goal by Adrian Kempe pushed in after…