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Kings take improved offense to Nashville

Mar 6, 2012 - 4:19 PM (Sports Network) - Three of the four games on the Kings' upcoming road trip are against teams currently in the Western Conference playoff picture. It's a good thing then that they seem to finally have their offense on track.

Los Angeles opens up its key swing in Nashville, where it battles a Predators club that has a firm hold on a postseason spot.

The Kings are just on the outside of a very tight race for the last few playoff positions in the conference. With 72 points, they are tied with the Avalanche for ninth place, one point behind the Sharks and three back of the seventh-place Stars. Los Angeles has stayed in the hunt by winning three of its last four while netting 13 goals in that span.

Those four games have all come with forward Jeff Carter in the lineup. Carter was acquired from the Blue Jackets on Feb. 23 and he posted his first points in a Los Angeles uniform with a two-goal effort in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.

Los Angeles has struggled on offense all season long, prompting the move to get Carter, but is now one ahead of the Wild for the fewest goals scored in the league with 138.

"A little weight off your shoulders. It's always nice when that first one goes in. You feel a lot better about your game. When I get one, I get a little confidence and get going, and it's good," said Carter.

Mike Richards, a former teammate of Carter in Philadelphia, had three assists, helping set up both of Carter's goals. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar also scored and Jonathan Quick made 29 saves.

Following tonight's tilt, Carter will return to Columbus for a game before Los Angeles wraps its swing against playoff contenders Detroit and Chicago.

First, the Kings will look to hand the Predators their first regulation loss at home since Jan. 5. Nashville is 10-0-2 since and begins a three-game homestand this evening.

Nashville moved to 5-1-1 in its past seven games overall with Saturday's win at Florida. The 3-1 triumph gave the Predators 83 points on the season, four up on the Blackhawks for the fifth spot in the West.

Pekka Rinne made 39 saves for his 36th victory of the season, matching Tomas Vokoun's single-season club record set in 2005-06. Andrei Kostitsyn had a goal and an assist, while David Legwand and Mike Fisher both lit the lamp.

"We kept things pretty simple tonight and got a couple of goals there," said Legwand. "From there we just made sure to play some tight defense."

Defenseman Kevin Klein could miss a fourth straight game tonight for Nashville because of an upper-body injury, while fellow blueliner Ryan Ellis is questionable after sitting out Saturday's win with flu-like symptoms.

The Predators and Kings have split two meetings so far this season, with each team winning once at home. Los Angeles has won five of the past seven encounters overall, but Nashville did snap a three-game home slide in this series with a 2-1 win on Feb. 27. Rinne made 30 saves and had his shutout bid ended on a goal by Brown with 3:24 to play.