• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Durable Kopitar helps Kings down Preds

Mar 16, 2011 - 6:28 AM Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Anze Kopitar collected two points while setting a Kings record for durability, and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to four games with a 4-2 win over Nashville.

Kopitar, a 23-year-old center, skated in his 325th straight game to break Marcel Dionne's 29-year-old record.

He scored from close range 11:31 into the game and added an assist on Wayne Simmonds' goal in the second period, which would eventually count as the game- winner.

Alec Martinez and Dustin Brown also scored for LA while Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves for the win.

Jonathon Blum and J.P. Dumont scored for the Predators, who had a two-game winning streak snapped, falling to 2-1 on their five-game homestand. Pekka Rinne yielded three goals on just 17 shots in defeat.

"They're a solid team. They capitalized on their chances," said Nashville head coach Barry Trotz. "I thought we played pretty well, but we're not getting rewarded."

The Kings finished 4-0 on their road trip, winning four straight games for the first time since December 21-27.

The more impressive streak, of course, belongs to Kopitar, who hasn't missed a game since his rookie season in 2006-07. Dionne played 324 straight games from January 7, 1978 to January 9, 1982 -- a mark Kopitar matched in Sunday's win over Dallas.

"These were all very big games, very meaningful for everybody," Kings head coach Terry Murray said. "To win four in a row like this, at this time of the year, it's a big dig-in by everybody. Everybody came into this road trip with a playoff mentality and did the right things in most of the games, certainly enough to get the job done. Now we've got to make sure we're bringing this attitude back, and do the same thing at Staples Center."

After Kopitar cleaned up the game's first goal 11:31 into the opening period, Blum tied the game for Nashville at 17:29 on a rifled slap shot from just inside the blue line.

Martinez made it 2-1 early in the second period, scoring at the end of a rush. Simmonds was set up by Kopitar in the left circle after a Predators turnover, making it 3-1 at the 12:03 mark.

Dumont got his stick on a long, fluttering Cody Franson shot from the right side to get Nashville within 3-2 with 7:17 to play. But the Kings held on and Brown scored into an empty net with 62 seconds left for the final margin.

Game Notes

Entering the game, the Predators had won eight of the past 11 meetings in the series...LA also beat Detroit, Columbus and Dallas on its road trip.