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The Nashville Predators kept the good times rolling tonight, pushing their winning streak to four games in a triumph over the Los Angeles Kings. Colin Wilson led the way with two goals, and Pekka Rinne made 32 saves to push his record to 4-2-3 and earn his first shutout of the campaign. Kevin Klein added two assists from the blueline, and Shea Weber finally got on the board as well, assisting on the third Preds goal.
Next Preds Home Game: Sunday vs Chicago Blackhawks - find Tickets at TiqIQ!
Random Observations
- In the sense that many criticized Shea Weber for taking a fighting major against Jared Boll of Columbus in the season opener, I'll take a scrap between Richard Clune and Kyle Clifford (1 goal, 4 assists on the season) any day.
- Earlier today I mulled over whether defensive breakdowns might be a part of why L.A.'s goaltending numbers are so awful, and that would appear to be the case on Gabriel Bourque's opening goal. He was wide open between the circles while all eyes were on David Legwand below the goal line, allowing him to easily one-time the pass and beat Jonathan Quick.
- That said, Bourque was buzzing right from the opening bell, using his speed to get on top of opponents quickly, and taking every shot opportunity he could. I'm hoping that Barry Trotz taps Sergei Kostitsyn on the bench during those shifts, and tells him "DO THAT".
- There was a little bit of an odd sequence early in the second period in which the top portion of Pekka's goal stick snapped off. Goalies are allowed to play with a broken stick until a stoppage in play, unlike skaters (Rule 10.4).
- Colin Wilson with back-to-back goals to make it 3-0? Yes, please. This marks the first time that Willy has had consecutive multi-point games in the NHL. Yup, he's a driving force all right.
- Paul Gaustad earned his pay tonight on the faceoff dot, going 15-for-22 including an important 14-for-20 in the defensive zone, as the Preds were wildly outshot after taking that early lead (much as in the St. Louis game Tuesday).
Boxscore- Game Summary - Event Summary - Faceoff Report - Shot Report
Relive the magic with the video highlights:
And for your advanced stats...
Nashville Predators
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Nick Spaling | C | 16:51 | 4 | 19 | -15 | -3 | -14 |
| Mike Fisher | C | 16:00 | 5 | 14 | -9 | -5 | -7 |
| Martin Erat | R | 15:36 | 5 | 13 | -8 | -4 | -6 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | L | 15:33 | 5 | 13 | -8 | -2 | -7 |
| Brandon Yip | R | 14:21 | 4 | 16 | -12 | -3 | -11 |
| David Legwand | C | 14:19 | 6 | 21 | -15 | -5 | -13 |
| Craig Smith | C | 14:16 | 5 | 19 | -14 | -1 | -14 |
| Gabriel Bourque | L | 13:54 | 6 | 22 | -16 | -3 | -15 |
| Colin Wilson | C | 13:08 | 7 | 18 | -11 | -4 | -9 |
| Paul Gaustad | C | 11:48 | 6 | 12 | -6 | -10 | -2 |
| Rich Clune | L | 7:39 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shea Weber | D | 21:11 | 5 | 22 | -17 | -7 | -14 |
| Scott Hannan | D | 20:59 | 4 | 25 | -21 | -6 | -19 |
| Kevin Klein | D | 14:26 | 8 | 19 | -11 | -4 | -9 |
| Roman Josi | D | 14:06 | 9 | 21 | -12 | -4 | -10 |
| Hal Gill | D | 12:24 | 6 | 8 | -2 | -3 | -1 |
| Ryan Ellis | D | 9:52 | 3 | 9 | -6 | -3 | -5 |
| Jonathon Blum | D | 9:48 | 3 | 10 | -7 | +1 | -7 |
Is there any concern about the extent to which the Preds let off the gas pedal in the second period, getting outshot 20-5?
Los Angeles Kings
| Player | Pos | ES TOI | Total Shots For | Total Shots Against | Corsi | Net Zone Starts | Adjusted Corsi |
| Anze Kopitar | C | 16:30 | 24 | 6 | +18 | +6 | +16 |
| Justin Williams | R | 16:29 | 19 | 6 | +13 | +6 | +11 |
| Dustin Brown | L | 14:40 | 21 | 5 | +16 | +7 | +13 |
| Jeff Carter | C | 14:30 | 19 | 6 | +13 | +4 | +11 |
| Mike Richards | C | 13:10 | 15 | 4 | +11 | +4 | +9 |
| Dwight King | L | 12:36 | 16 | 5 | +11 | +2 | +10 |
| Simon Gagne | L | 12:33 | 16 | 6 | +10 | +4 | +8 |
| Colin Fraser | C | 11:34 | 12 | 5 | +7 | +1 | +7 |
| Trevor Lewis | C | 11:28 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 0 | +4 |
| Jarret Stoll | C | 11:13 | 8 | 4 | +4 | +3 | +3 |
| Kyle Clifford | L | 10:11 | 6 | 3 | +3 | +1 | +3 |
| Jordan Nolan | C | 8:31 | 6 | 2 | +4 | +2 | +3 |
| Slava Voynov | D | 20:31 | 24 | 8 | +16 | 0 | +16 |
| Drew Doughty | D | 19:51 | 22 | 6 | +16 | +9 | +12 |
| Alec Martinez | D | 19:46 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 0 | +19 |
| Rob Scuderi | D | 17:57 | 18 | 7 | +11 | +8 | +8 |
| Jake Muzzin | D | 13:40 | 13 | 5 | +8 | +5 | +6 |
| Davis Drewiske | D | 11:01 | 11 | 5 | +6 | +4 | +4 |