Corey Perry will look to continue making an impact for the Los Angeles Kings when they visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
He scored a power-play goal in his first game with the Kings on Thursday night in a 3-2 overtime win at the Dallas Stars, the second straight overtime win to start a five-game road trip. He signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the team in July, but his season start was delayed by injury.
“He’s the best net-front guy in the league, forever, so happy to have him,” Kings forward Kevin Fiala said of Perry. “He’s not scared of pucks. He stands in that front, makes plays, he’s done it all. So, very excited to have him here.”
That attitude seems to have rubbed off on Perry’s teammates, who blocked 16 shots against the Stars and 14 in a 2-1 overtime win at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
“After every game, we’re talking about it, in the meetings the next day, everybody’s coming in, we’re sore,” Kings forward Adrian Kempe said. “It’s taken a lot of energy, but when you get the wins, it feels so much better.”
The two overtime victories followed four straight losses, but Kempe said the losing streak wasn’t for a lack of effort.
“We’ve been grinding out pretty much every game all season, but that’s the way it’s going to be,” he said. “I think the last two or three games here, we’ve been really showing up with a good identity and a grinding game. We’ve just got to keep that going.”
Nashville also experienced a four-game skid recently, ending it with a 2-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Still, the Predators have been held to two goals or fewer in four straight games and six of eight this season.
“They’re not going in easy right now,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we’re sticking with it. I think there’s some things that we can do a little bit better offensively.”
One of the issues, Brunette said, is the Predators have been passing up shots in prime scoring areas.
“We’re a little slow to pull the trigger,” he said. “We get ourselves in the slot and we don’t shoot, or it gets blocked just because we’re a little slow. But I think the greasy goals, that’s part of what a lot of our guys can bring.”
Nashville forward Ryan O’Reilly said the Predators checked well in their most recent game, wearing down the Canucks and increasing their offensive zone time.
“That’s something that we want to have,” O’Reilly said. “As a group, kind of what I said before, just not cheating the game. We’re in no position to do that right now, especially if we’re not scoring goals. We have to be on the right side. That’s got to be our foundation and build from that.”
The Kings have scored a power-play goal in three straight games, but Nashville went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in their most recent game and its 89.3 kill percentage this season ranked fifth best in the league entering Friday.
“I think everyone’s committed to it,” O’Reilly said of the penalty kill. “I think being on the same page and reading off each other, and I think guys are prepared.”
Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury and remains day to day.
