The Nashville Predators took down the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night in dominant fashion, tallying their first shutout of the year, led by recently honored goalie Juuse Saros.
The Preds defeated the Kings 3-0 with a pair of goals from Filip Forsberg and an amazing showing from goaltender Saros.
Improving the Preds to 9-4-5 on the year, this shutout win marks their fifth straight victory, as they continue to ride their momentum into a busy week.
After two seasons of struggling to figure out their veteran core, this fifth straight win might be a sign the Preds are getting over the hump.
Predators Continue Hot Streak
In Tuesday night’s victory, the team continued to look dominant, posting a shutout against a Kings team that hadn’t been shut out in over a year while still putting up strong offensive numbers.
Last night, it was Filip Forsberg doing the work on offense, ironically running circles around Kings goalie Anton Forsberg.
In the battle of Swedish Forsbergs, Filip won the battle, netting a goal on a great pass from Nils Höglander in the first, then scoring on a filthy shot in the second period to put the Preds up 2-0.
That puts Forsberg at 14 points in his last eight games, continuing to be a leading factor in the Preds’ offense, whether he is scoring goals or finding the open man to set up his teammates.
Saros had arguably the best performance of the game, facing 30 shots with zero of them finding their way into his net in true brick-wall fashion.
The shutout comes at an unsurprising time, with Saros coming off one of the best weeks of his career, earning NHL Third Star of the Week honors on Monday.
How Far Can the Streak Go?
With the Preds earning their fifth straight victory, it becomes a game of how far they can go riding this momentum.
Their streak comes at a challenging time in their schedule, as Tuesday marked the first of five road games over eight days.
Typically, a road trip of this caliber would be a tough challenge for a team, but while currently riding a hot streak, the Preds should be grateful for getting to take on the challenge with all cylinders firing.
The road trip will not be easy, however, as the Preds have a back-to-back with a game against the Ducks on Wednesday night in Anaheim.
Anaheim currently sits at 10-7-1 on the year and has been a dominant force in the Pacific Division this season.
Heading into Wednesday night’s game, the Ducks will also be coming off two days of rest and a two-game win streak of their own, providing yet another tough challenge for Nashville.
However, if the Preds continue to play hockey as they have in recent contests, they have a strong chance to move to six in a row against the Ducks.
Already sitting third in the Central Division, the Preds are just waiting for a team to match their fire and stop them.
Juuse Saros Tallies First Shutout of Season in Predators’ Fifth Straight Win