Predators shut out Kings 3-0 on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, where Juuse Saros stopped all 30 shots and Filip Forsberg scored twice for the Nashville Predators. Adam Wilsby’s empty-net goal at 17:43 of the third period finished a result that extended Nashville’s winning streak to five games. The Los Angeles Kings are 5-9-2 after losing three of their last four, after failing to solve a goaltender who had been in Toronto a night earlier for Pekka Rinne’s Hockey Hall of Fame induction.
Anton Forsberg made 27 saves on 29 shots in 58:42 for Los Angeles. The teams were even in shots, 30-30, but the Kings were limited to seven shots in the first period and eight in the second before they finally pushed volume in the third. Saros stopped all 15 Los Angeles shots in that period.
The Kings’ 60-in-60 recap from Tuesday, above, covers a night that got away early and stayed scoreless even when Los Angeles finally generated a late push. Nashville improved to 9-4-5 and has a point in eight of its last nine games (6-1-2). Attendance was 15,008.
Forsberg scored twice before the empty net
Filip Forsberg opened the scoring at 5:20 of the first period at even strength. Nils Hoglander broke up a Brian Dumoulin pass and created a 2-on-1, and Forsberg finished the cross-slot pass from the left circle, as NHL.com described it. The official summary lists the shot as a snap and lists Hoglander with the lone assist.
Forsberg scored again at 10:32 of the second, another even-strength snap from the left circle, with assists from Hoglander and Brady Skjei. It was Forsberg’s seventh goal of the season and, as NHL.com noted, his sixth in the past eight games. Hoglander finished with two assists. Shane Wright, on that line since arriving from the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 1, was on the ice for both goals and finished plus-2 with four shots in 15:02.
Wilsby’s unassisted empty-netter made it 3-0 after the Kings had pulled Anton Forsberg for 1:18. The official summary shows Nashville’s shots by period as 11, 10 and 9, and Los Angeles’ as 7, 8 and 15. Special teams decided nothing: the Predators went 0-for-4 on the power play in 8:00, and the Kings went 0-for-2 in 4:00. Penalty minutes were 19 for Nashville and 13 for Los Angeles, including a long Adam Edstrom sequence and a fighting major for Andre Lee.
A late push, and still no goal
Saros had not recorded a shutout since Jan. 3, 2025, a 3-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks, per NHL.com. Tuesday was his 28th career shutout, tying Niklas Backstrom for sixth-most by a Finnish goaltender, NHL.com said. “Obviously special couple days, and, yeah, I think we got a little bit of his luck to go from Toronto here,” Saros said. Brunette called it a tribute to Rinne and said Saros “wanted it” after the late arrival.
The Kings had not been shut out since a 4-0 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on March 27, 2025, ending a regular-season scoring streak of 108 games, according to NHL.com. “It’s obviously frustrating,” Adrian Kempe said. “I think whenever we had the puck, we couldn’t connect from one to two passes to get in the O-zone.” Kempe had three shots in 17:07. Artemi Panarin had three shots in 18:38. Alex Laferriere led the Kings with five shots in 16:36. Quinton Byfield had four in 19:28. None of them beat Saros.
Scott Laughton put the blank night in blunt terms. “Obviously didn’t score, so it’s not good enough,” he said. “We need to have that urgency right from the get-go, and not really sure (why it was lacking). We’re a good hockey team, I believe that. We got to have that belief in the group, and got to continue to push forward here. I believe it, but it needs to start here, and we need to get going, especially we got two more at home. But we need to do something about it here.” Forsberg, from the other locker room, said Nashville sat back too much in the third and that Saros had to make “some great saves.”
Zuccarello returned; Fiala did not play
Mats Zuccarello played for the first time since an upper-body injury that had kept him out six games. He finished with one shot on goal, a minus-1 rating and 11:13 of ice time, a managed workload that matches what Peter Laviolette had previewed. The official Kings scratches were Alex Turcotte, Erik Gustafsson and Samuel Helenius. Gustafsson had been day-to-day after missing Monday’s practice. Turcotte, activated and in the lineup Saturday against Pittsburgh, was listed among the scratches; the game sheet did not give a reason.
Kevin Fiala did not play and was not among those official scratches, a combination that is consistent with a player who has not yet been activated for game action after a long recovery. An NHL.com status report said he is nearing his season debut and that it could come as soon as Thursday against the New York Islanders. ESPN, citing sources, has reported that the Kings expect him back this week. Those items remain unconfirmed. Laviolette did not confirm a Tuesday debut after Monday’s practice, and the game sheet did not include Fiala.
There is one other physical note to flag rather than upgrade. Drew Doughty blocked a Steven Stamkos slap shot off his right ankle at 12:31 of the third period on a Nashville power play, NHL.com reported. He needed help to the bench from Erik Haula and later returned with 5:05 remaining, finishing 22:22, three blocked shots and an even plus-minus. His availability for Thursday has not been addressed officially and is unconfirmed.
The Islanders arrive Thursday
Los Angeles remains at home Thursday against the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. PST, then hosts the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The homestand has already included a 7-2 win over San Jose and a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh. Nashville scored its first two goals at even strength, killed four penalties, and left with a shutout even after the Kings outshot them 15-9 in the third.
The next test is whether Thursday’s lineup includes Fiala, whether Doughty is simply listed as a player who finished Tuesday’s game, and whether a group that has now been blanked for the first time since March 2025 can generate a first period that looks more like its third. Until the Kings confirm those roster questions, the verified story is the one on the official sheet: Predators 3, Kings 0, Saros 30 saves, Forsberg two goals.
Notes and conflicts
- Fiala. Did not play and was not an official scratch. A possible Thursday debut against the Islanders is unconfirmed.
- Doughty. Blocked a shot, left, and returned Tuesday. Thursday status is unconfirmed.
- Shot type. NHL.com described the second Forsberg goal as a wrist shot; the official summary lists both of his goals as snaps.
- Scoring streak. The 108-game regular-season streak and the March 27, 2025, shutout at Colorado are from NHL.com.
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