It was Byfield’s second overtime goal during the streak after picking up the winner in a 2-1 victory against the St. Louis Blues on March 8.
“I’ve kind of said it before, like, I used to be scared of (overtime),” said Byfield, who hit the right post 33 seconds into the extra period. “Now, just going 3-on-3 with all that ice, it’s so much fun out there. I just [need to] enjoy being out there. You get a lot of time and space, and just make plays.”
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings (36-20-9), who are 9-0-3 in their past 12 home games. It was Kuemper’s fourth shutout of the season and second in a row following up a 21-save outing in a 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Kuemper is 12-0-1 in his past 13 home starts, the longest home point streak by a goaltender in Los Angeles history. Kelly Hrudey had a 12-game streak (11-0-0-1) Jan. 8-March 28, 1991.
“He was awesome,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said of Kuemper. “I mean, he’s been like that, I think, the whole year, coming up with some big ones when we need him. But he looks calm, collected after all of them. So fun to watch him and he’s playing really well right now, which is really good for us.”
Justus Annunen made 20 saves for the Predators (25-33-8), who lost 2-1 at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, dropping back-to-back games following a four-game winning streak.
“We played a solid game,” Nashville defenseman Brady Skjei said. “We really didn’t give them that much. ‘Juice’ played really good for us tonight. It’s one of those games where it wasn’t going to be the cleanest of games, and both teams were fine with that. Came down to overtime and a little bounce here and there. And we knew that was the way the game was going to end, and we just, unfortunately, didn’t get that bounce.”
After a complete performance against Washington, Los Angeles came out slow with only four shots on goal in the first period and two in the second.