Kings host Predators, seek fifth straight victory

The Los Angeles Kings will try to run their home point streak to 12 games when they host the Nashville Predators on Saturday.The Kings are 8-0-3 in their past 11 at home following a 3-0 win against the visiting Washington Capitals on Thursday night, ending the Caps’ five-game winning streak.It matches the third-longest home-point streak in franchise history behind 13-game runs in 2022-23 (11-0-2) and 1992-93 (12-0-1).With their fourth straight victory overall, the Kings remained within a point of the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division. That’s important because the second-place team hosts the third-place team in the first round of the playoffs.”We have our eye on trying to get home ice for playoffs,” Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper said after recording his third shutout of the season on Thursday. “Every team in the race wants that, and we just know how important every point is going to be down the stretch here. We just want to make sure we’re coming to play every night and try to get as many wins as we can.”Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller agreed with Kuemper that home-ice advantage in the first round is important, especially against a team like Edmonton, which knocked the Kings out of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons in the first round after finishing ahead of them in the standings, but he doesn’t believe it should be the main focus.He’d rather they focus on playing the way they did against the Capitals.”If we could do that consistently enough over the next 18 games, then we should give ourselves a pretty good chance,” Hiller said. “We just have to come out and be focused and play as a team.”Kings forward Quinton Byfield has scored in five straight games, and Anze Kopitar enters on a four-game point streak (two goals, three assists).