Nashville Predators 0 - 3 Los Angeles Kings
Kuemper makes 16 saves, Kings stifle Predators in shutout NASHVILLE -- Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Nashville Predators 3-0 at Bridgestone Arena on Monday. The shutout was Kuemper’s first of the season and his 32nd in the NHL.

“That’s a team shutout right there,” Kuemper said. “We played such a complete game tonight. That’s a big, physical team on the other end, and we answered, if not dictated, every step of the way. It was just great to see us have that long travel (day) yesterday and come out with an effort like this.” Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings (7-3-3), who are 4-1-1 in their past six games.

Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators (4-7-1), who have lost three of four (1-2-1).

“I know for myself I’m extremely frustrated,” Nashville forward Ryan O'Reilly said. “That was probably one of the worst games I think I’ve ever played from generating and making plays and losing battles. As a group, too. Yeah, we build and then just take a step back. It’s frustration throughout. You feel it through our bench. You feel it everywhere. Everyone feels it. We have to dig deeper to find a way out of it.”

Kopitar gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 13:24 of the first period on a shot that he banked in off Saros’ back from below the goal line.

“Just guys working hard, working together,” Kuemper said. “That’s a skilled team that tries to make a lot of little plays, and we were there breaking them up all night. I think that’s why the shot totals were so low. And then we were able to play a lot of hockey down in their end as well. It was great to play behind tonight. It was a lot of fun just watching the guys work the way they did.”

Fiala extended it to 2-0 just 35 seconds into the third period, beating Saros on the rebound of Phillip Danault’s shot on a 2-on-1.

“Just kind of chaos on the boards over there and just tried to advance it,” Kings forward Trevor Moore said. “Just tried to keep moving it up, and [Fiala] made a good play.” Kempe scored an empty-net goal at 17:02 for the 3-0 final.

The Predators have played nine of their first 12 games at home and have a 3-6-0 record during those games.

“[Frustration] is a dangerous emotion, and it’s getting the best of us,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “It’s kind of unfortunately leaked through almost the whole team. Frustration plays tricks on you. Frustration makes you think you’re actually working when you’re not working. Frustration actually makes you a poor teammate. Frustration is contagious. So those are some pretty bad things, and that’s kind of leaked through our group right now.”

Kings forward Alex Turcotte left the game in the second period and did not return after taking a hit from Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.

“Nothing specific other than I talked to him and he’s going to be all right," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. "I’m not sure when he’ll be able to get back in, but he’s fine.”

Nashville forward Tommy Novak left the game at 17:24 of the third period after colliding with teammate Colton Sissons. There was no update on his status.

NOTES: Kopitar scored his 70th career game-opening goal, which surpassed Luc Robitaille (69) and tied Marcel Dionne (70) for the most in Kings history. … The Predators recorded their first shot on goal of the third period at 16:05. … Nashville forward Filip Forsberg’s season-opening eight-game home point streak (five goals, four assists) ended.

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Edmonton Oilers 0 - 3 New Jersey Devils
Allen makes 31 saves, Devils shut out Oilers EDMONTON -- Jake Allen made 31 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 3-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday. It was Allen's second shutout of the season and his 26th in the NHL.

“I tried to take a page out of [Jacob Markstrom’s] last two games. He played a lot more calm than previous games and he looked great in his last two games,” Allen said. “I tried to take a page out of that book, and they have a good team over there. They have a team that you have to be a bit more patient, a little bit more deep and we found a way to get it done." Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist for the Devils (8-5-2), who have won three of four but were coming off a 3-0 loss at the Calgary Flames on Friday.

“We won on the back of some incredible goaltending. Jake gives us a chance to get going in the game, so credit goes to him certainly,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought we had a bit of a bend-but-don’t-break mentality throughout, and I thought the third period was our best period in terms of defending less and pressing and extending our lead.

“We had some good effort from our guys throughout the (Western Canada) trip. You talk about the two shutouts (also a 6-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 30), but we were five minutes away from getting one in Calgary as well. There’s things we have to do a lot better, no question, but we’re learning how to win these types of games and learning how to defend a lead.”

Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for the Oilers (6-6-1), who were coming off a 4-2 win at the Flames on Sunday.

"Overall, it was a pretty good game considering it was a back-to-back,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “So often you win a game and you’re so happy, you lose and you are negative and thinking of all the things that went wrong. There were mistakes, things we could have done better -- we lost the special teams battle again, had opportunities to score, didn’t capitalize. Not saying we should have won. We didn’t dominate, but it could have been a lot closer game.”

Stefan Noesen put the Devils ahead 1-0 at 5:18 of the first period, scoring with a snap shot from the slot that deflected in off the right post.

The goal came 3:14 after Adam Henrique hit the crossbar for the Oilers.

“The play developed well. I made the move I wanted to and just got too much of it there,” Henrique said. “We have to find a way to find an ugly one at some point there. I thought we had good pressure, good opportunities to do that, but we just couldn’t get that first one.” Bratt made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:34 of the second period, burying a one-timer five-hole from the slot off a pass from Nico Hischier.

Timo Meier extended the lead to 3-0 at 9:25 of the third period. He gloved down a lead pass from Dawson Mercer, skated in on a breakaway, and made a move to his backhand before tucking a shot past the left pad of Pickard.

“I thought we had a little bit of a slow start, but we reacted quick. We got an important goal early and then some key saves by Jake. He played unbelievable, and that’s what we need,” Meier said. “Then the power play comes out and does our job, well-executed goal there, and we’re in full control of the game.

“I thought, overall, the whole game we did a good job even though sometimes they had us hemmed in our zone. We didn’t crack and we stayed solid and that’s what got us the win tonight.”

NOTES: Allen became the third goalie in Devils history to get multiple shutouts in his first five games of a season, joining Keith Kinkaid (two in 2018-19) and Scott Clemmensen (two in 2003-04). ... Bratt has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past eight games.

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