Los Angeles didn't outshoot or outplay Nashville — they out-managed the puck, dominated the dot, and let Forsberg do the rest.
Nashville's inability to win a single faceoff battle — losing 58.3% of draws — surrendered territorial control to Los Angeles all game long, and when regulation and overtime failed to separate them, one shootout conversion was enough. This was a tight-margin playoff-positioning clash at Crypto.com Arena where special teams, puck management, and goaltending all shaped a game decided by the thinnest possible margin.
⚡TURNING POINT
Kempe's shootout conversion was the only moment where a miss meant defeat — every prior sequence allowed recovery, this one did not. A scoreless overtime meant the game was decided by a single shooter rather than 60 minutes of team execution, which makes Kempe's finish the irreversible inflection.
🏆WHY LAK WON
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Los Angeles dominated faceoffs 58.3% to 41.7%, controlling zone starts and denying Nashville the puck retrieval that drives their offense.
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Forsberg conceded 1.10 fewer goals than league average on 31 shots — in a one-goal game settled in a shootout, that margin was the difference between a regulation loss and a stolen point.
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Nashville's 18 giveaways against 3 takeaways created a consistent turnover imbalance that Los Angeles converted into sustained pressure, including both even-strength goals.
📉WHY NSH LOST
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Nashville's faceoff rate of 41.7% meant they started possessions behind throughout, compounding their giveaway problem rather than alleviating it.
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18 giveaways against only 3 takeaways reflects systemic puck management failure — Nashville repeatedly handed Los Angeles transition opportunities at even strength.
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Nashville went scoreless in the shootout, meaning their inability to convert when the game was reduced to individual execution cost them both points.
Three Stars
Scott Laughton1st
LAK, C
1G5 shots on goalTOI 15:05+2
His shot volume generated the second LAK goal that re-established the lead after Nashville's power-play equalizer.
Anton Forsberg2nd
LAK, G
SV% 0.93529 saves from 31 shots faced
Forsberg conceded 1.10 fewer goals than league average — that margin kept Los Angeles alive through regulation and overtime.
Jared Wright3rd
LAK, R
1 assist+2TOI 13:22
His playmaking contribution on Laughton's goal directly produced the go-ahead score in the second period.
·Momentum Shift
Nashville seized the second period shot battle 18 to 10, nearly doubling Los Angeles's output after being thoroughly outshot 11 to 4 in the first — that territorial swing produced their power-play goal and forced a level game. However, the tactical consequence was containment rather than separation: Nashville generated volume but couldn't convert the momentum into a lead, leaving the outcome exposed to a shootout lottery.
