The Rematch Is All Kings

Owners of the worst record in the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators have won fewer games than any other NHL team.

But that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of surprising elite opponents.

Their upset victims have included some of the best teams in the West, among them the Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.

Last Thursday, they surprised the Kings at Staples Center.

Luckily for the Kings, who had a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Predators ended that night, they had to wait only five days for a rematch.

More easily convinced this time that defeating the fifth-year expansion team would require more than a token effort, they earned a 3-0 victory over the Predators on Tuesday night in front of 10,208 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

“We can’t be losing to teams that are below us,” defenseman Aaron Miller said. “I think what happens sometimes is teams don’t give them enough respect, and if you do that against any team in this league, they’re going to bury you.

“And that’s what happened in the last game against them, so I think we came out a little bit harder and gave a little better effort.”

In the first game of a two-game trip that ends tonight against the Dallas Stars, the Kings dominated special teams play and got 19 saves from goaltender Felix Potvin, whose shutout was his third of the season and 28th of his career.

After giving up two power-play goals in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the Predators and two more Saturday night in a 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Kings killed nine penalties, five in the first period.

Ziggy Palffy and Adam Deadmarsh scored power-play goals and Eric Belanger scored a shorthanded goal late in the first period that gave the Kings a 2-0 lead and all but ended the suspense in front of an already subdued crowd.

“I don’t know if it was playing Nashville as much as we lost two games,” Coach Andy Murray said. “We had to get a win here; we had to turn it around. You lose a couple and you wonder when you’ll ever win your next one.”

The Kings led the NHL in power-play efficiency and ranked third in penalty killing last season, but they’re not among the top 10 in either category this season.

“Last year,” Miller said, “we won games with special teams. It’s no secret. We didn’t score a ton of five-on-five goals; we killed penalties and we scored big goals with our power play.

“If we get those units going, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

They had them going against the Predators, whose 3-0 loss was their second in three nights. They lost by the same score Sunday against the Mighty Ducks.

With Panther defenseman Kimmo Timonen in the penalty box for hooking Craig Johnson, Palffy gave the Kings the only goal they needed, scoring from the top of the right faceoff circle at 12:37 of the first period.

Later in the period, with King defenseman Mathieu Schneider serving a double minor for cross-checking and roughing, Belanger took a pass off the boards from Ian Laperriere and streaked up the right side, blowing past Timonen.

His backhanded shot beat Tomas Vokoun to the short side.

“I didn’t have much to shoot at, but he didn’t cover his angle right,” Belanger said of the Predator goaltender. “I just saw the opening and put it there.”

“That was a big turning point,” Predator Coach Barry Trotz said.

Said Vokoun, who faced 21 shots before being pulled in favor of Mike Dunham after the second period: “That’s just a bad play by me.”

Deadmarsh completed the scoring in the 13th minute of the second period, redirecting a shot from the blue line by Schneider.

Over the loudspeakers, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” roared.

It was already too late.