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Tuesday, Oct. 17 8:00pm ET
Nashville defense handcuffs Robitaille | |||||
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BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Nashville Predators goalie Mike Dunham is backstopping a defense that is starting to believe in itself. The Predators held the league's highest-scoring team to 26 shots and one goal Tuesday in a 1-1 tie with the Los Angeles Kings. Nashville kept Luc Robitaille without a point for the first time this season. "Before the game, we knew we had to make a commitment to defense," Dunham said. "We didn't want to make any turnovers in the neutral zone, because they're a countering team." "They played us really tight," Robitaille said. "On any other night we could have gotten two or three goals." Robitaille and Ziggy Palffy, who entered the game tied for the league scoring lead, were both blanked. Los Angeles had scored 21 goals in its last four games, but the Predators outshot the Kings 35-26. Nashville, which has given up seven goals in five games, is off to its best start at 3-1-1. "Mike was unbelievable tonight," Nashville's Vitali Yachmenev said. "Robitaille and Zigmund Palffy were leading the league in points, so it was a good effort by everybody." Yachmenev tied the game 1-1 at 12:36 of the second period. He stole the puck off the stick of Kings goaltender Steve Passmore and scored his third goal of the year. Passmore, who made 34 saves, stopped Nashville's Scott Walker at the right post and Greg Johnson on a breakaway in the first period. Craig Johnson put the Kings on top 1-0 at 3:33 of the second period, on a wrist shot from the top of the right circle, through a screen. Johnson beat on the glove side. Dunham made a spectacular glove save on Glen Murray's breakaway late in the period. Passmore stopped Ville Peltonen on a 2-on-1 in the third, and Walker on a point-blank chance with 4:00 left. In overtime, Dunham made another glove save on a shot from Lubomir Visnovsky. Los Angeles defenseman Rob Blake, the former Norris Trophy winner, missed his first game of the season with a hairline fracture in his back. He is expected to miss two weeks. "I think whenever you don't have one of the best defensemen in the league you're going to hurt, but I didn't give it a second chance," Los Angeles coach Andy Murray said. "He wasn't there and I wasn't calling his name out." "It's no secret how much Rob means to our team," Kings defenseman Aki Berg said. "He logs between 26 and 30 minutes. Everybody knows about his shot." Game notesPredators goalie Tomas Vokoun was listed as day-to-day after injuring his foot during Monday's practice. Chris Mason was recalled from Milwaukee as Dunham's backup. . . . The Kings entered the game as the league's highest-scoring team (28 goals). The Predators and Ottawa Senators were tied for fewest goals against (6) . . .The Kings play eight of their next nine on the road . . . Yachmenev began his career with Los Angeles in 1995-96 . . . The attendance of 13,594 was the smallest for a game in Nashville this season. The Predators played before a smaller crowd in Tokyo Oct. 7. a match the NHL considered a Nashville home game. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Los Angeles Clubhouse Nashville Clubhouse RECAPS Ottawa 6 Philadelphia 1
Los Angeles 1
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