Predators frustrate Kings in 7-0 win

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Predators made franchise history Saturday night in a 7-0 win over the Kings, when Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and David Legwand each scored twice, marking the first time the Predators had three two-goal scorers in a game.

Paul Kariya also scored for the Predators. He missed his chance for a two-goal night when Kings goalie Dan Cloutier stopped him on a penalty shot in the first period.

Legwand scored on his penalty shot at the 4:35 mark of the second period.

Nashville was three for 10 on the power play and the Kings were 0 for 9.

“We had chances on the power play to make this a game,” Kings Coach Marc Crawford said. “Give their goalie credit for being good, but we didn’t bear down on our chances. There was some open nets there and we didn’t put the puck in the back of the net. For the first period-and-a-half, our power play was more effective than their power play, but we just couldn’t finish.”

Chris Mason earned his third shutout of the season, stopping 34 shots.

“They were struggling a bit,” Mason said of the Kings. “Teams like that are dangerous. If you give them a little momentum they can hurt you. But we stayed with them and we were patient.”

Barry Brust replaced Cloutier 41 seconds into the third when Cloutier was given a minor for roughing, a five-minute penalty for spearing and a game misconduct after tangling with Nashville’s Scott Hartnell.

“I feel terrible for Cloutier,” Mason said. “I can relate. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. He was having terrible luck. The frustration probably got to him.”