Jarome Iginla lifts Kings past Predators in OT

LOS ANGELES --Jarome Iginla scored on the power play with 1:26 remaining in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators at Staples Center on Thursday.
"It feels good, especially with a new team and being with the guys and to be able to try to find some way to contribute," said Iginla, who was acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche on March 1. "It's exciting to be out there at the end in a key situation and just trying to get some shots."
Iginla's second goal of the game came 58 seconds after the Predators were penalized for too many men on the ice. He scored his first goal in his third game with Los Angeles in the second period.

WATCH: All Predators vs. Kings highlights
Marian Gaborik also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings (32-28-6), who trail the St. Louis Blues by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"Every game for us now is a playoff game," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said.
Calle Jarnkrok and Kevin Fiala scored for the Predators (32-24-11), who lost their fourth game in a row (0-3-1) and are four points ahead of the Blues for third place in the Central Division. Pekka Rinne had 31 saves.
"We started a little bit slow honestly," Nashville captain Mike Fisher said. "We got better towards the end of the game. Overall, I feel like we can play better, and we got to find a way to win. We had the lead in the third, and then we made a mistake there in overtime. Pekka played unbelievable for us."
The Kings swept the three-game season series against the Predators.

A turnover by Gaborik in the Kings zone led to Jarnkrok's goal from the slot on the Predators' third shot on goal. James Neal knocked the puck away from Gaborik to Jarnkrok, who beat Quick for a 1-0 lead with 3:21 remaining in the first period.
Iginla tied it 1-1 on a power-play goal at 5:04 of the second. He had six points (four goals, two assists) in six games against the Predators this season.
Fiala gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 1:31 of the third.
Gaborik tied it 2-2 when he scored on the rebound of a shot by Alec Martinez on the power play at 10:55.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis was a late scratch after reaggravating a lower-body injury.

Goal of the game

Iginla scored his first goal with the Kings when he stopped a redirection attempt by Gaborik right in front of Rinne and moved the puck around the Predators goalie, scoring inside the right post.

Save of the game

Quick made a left-pad save on Predators forward Craig Smith at 2:30 of the third period to keep the Kings within a goal. Smith used a toe-drag move to get past defenseman Drew Doughty on a rush before attempting a shot from the slot that Quick stopped with a two-pad stack while down on his right side.

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Highlight of the game

Iginla gathered the puck after Fisher blocked his initial attempt and beat Rinne top shelf to win it. His 621st NHL goal was his first in overtime this season, seventh in his career.

Unsung performance of the game

Kings defenseman Paul LaDue had an assist, two shots on goal, three blocked shots and one hit in 18:27.

They said it

"Our guys played well tonight. In the first period, we were under a little bit of a siege. The second and third period, I thought we were really good. It gets to the 4-on-3 in overtime and it wins the game. -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette
"It felt great as a group. Also, to be able to tie it there in the third [period], and then have a big penalty kill there with about five minutes left. … It was a hard-fought game, for sure, lots on the line, and it feels good to be able to get that win as a group in OT." -- Kings forward Jarome Iginla

Need to know

Iginla had his first multipoint game of the season. … The Kings are 11-3 in games decided in overtime. … The Predators have at least a point in their past six games at Staples Center (3-0-3). … Nashville is 19-3-7 when scoring first and 12-2-5 when leading entering the second period. … In the past 20 games, the Kings have killed off 48 of 50 penalties (96.0 percent), best in the League during that span.

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What's next

Predators: At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; SN, CSN-CA, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Kings:Host the Washington Capitals on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, CSN-DC+, NHL.TV)