Kevin Fiala and the Kings have brought his compatriot Roman Josi to his knees. © APA / SAM HODDE

NHL: Fiala outwits his Swiss compatriot Josi

Swiss winger Kevin Fiala returned to his old hometown of Music City with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night and celebrated a 3-0 shutout against the Nashville Predators. In a clash with fellow countryman Roman Josi, Fiala scored a goal and extended his scoring streak to four games.

05 November 2024

From: sn/nhl

35 seconds had been played in the third period when Fiala picked up the puck in the offensive zone on the right wing, skilfully delayed and left his opponent Josi running into empty space. This was followed by a cross pass to Phillip Danault, who was running alongside him, but his shot was initially blocked by Predators goalkeeper Juuse Saros. Fiala was in the right place for the rebound and made it 2-0 (41st minute).

Kings captain Anze Kopitar had already set the ball rolling for LA in the first period when he delighted everyone with an extraordinary goal and an impossible angle: The veteran initially got stuck on the left outside post with a tip-in attempt, but reacted coolly as ice, scanned the situation lightning fast and shot the puck from behind the goal over Saros' skate into the goal to make it 1-0 (14th).

Kings captain Anze Kopitar. © APA / MICHAEL REAVES

Adrian Kempe put the finishing touches to the game with an empty-net goal, making him the only multi-point player in the game and sealing the 3-0 lead shortly before the end (58').

Predators coach: “Frustration is a dangerous emotion”

"It was a shutout by the entire team," Kuemper said, passing on the compliments to his teammates. "We simply played such a complete game today against a big and physically strong team. It was fun to watch our guys at work today."

"Frustration is a dangerous emotion - but it's taking over right now," said Predators coach Andrew Brunette. "Frustration plays tricks on you. Frustration makes you think you're working when you're not. Frustration makes you a bad teammate. Frustration is contagious. So those are some pretty bad things that are seeping through our team right now."