Ryan Smyth scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings broke loose for four goals in the first period of a 6-1 rout against Nashville on Saturday night, ending the Predators' season-high five-game winning streak.
Justin Williams, Trevor Lewis and Drew Doughty all scored for the Kings before the game was 10 minutes old, quickly ending the night for Nashville's starting goalie, Anders Lindback.
Alexei Ponikarovsky had the other goal for Los Angeles, which has won five of seven. Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves, improving to 3-0-0 against the Predators in his career.
Steve Sullivan scored for Nashville.
Making his eighth consecutive start in place of injured Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, Lindback was lifted at 9:59 of the first in favor of fellow rookie Mark Dekanich, who made his NHL debut. Lindback allowed three goals on nine Los Angeles shots.
Williams got the Kings on the board quickly, scoring 15 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Both of Smyth's goals were scored from just outside the crease.
At 15:32 of the first, Smyth scored a power-play goal just to Dekanich's right. With less than four minutes remaining in the second, Jarret Stoll's shot bounced off the glass behind the Nashville net. Smyth knocked the puck in with a baseball swing of his stick for the goal.
Nashville was 8-0-2 in its previous 10 games, which tied a franchise record for points in consecutive games.
Notes: Nashville LW Sergei Kostitsyn had his career-high points streak snapped at eight games. ... With a goal and an assist, Doughty has six points in his last three games. ... Brown has a seven-game points streak. ... After losing seven straight to Nashville, the Kings have defeated the Predators three consecutive times.
