The Nashville Predators extended their winning streak to six games — the longest in the NHL — with a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at Honda Center, ending the Ducks’ own five-game winning run. Shane Wright, Nils Hoglander and Jayden Struble each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Justus Annunen made 27 saves to win his fourth consecutive start.
Anaheim opened the scoring at 8:08 of the first period when Cutter Gauthier finished a feed from Mikael Granlund. According to the Associated Press, the goal extended the NHL’s most prolific seven-game goal-scoring binge in more than three decades for Gauthier, who has become the Ducks’ most dangerous weapon. Nashville answered just 21 seconds later through Struble, and the Predators never looked back.
Hoglander’s magic puts Nashville ahead
Hoglander put the Predators in front at 16:02 of the second period with a remarkable between-the-legs goal, set up by Struble and Wright, and Wright added the game-winner at 8:05 of the third. Granlund pulled one back for Anaheim at 12:11, assisted by Beckett Sennecke and Drew Helleson, but Steven Stamkos sealed the win on a two-on-one with four minutes left, finishing a feed from Mavrik Bourque and Roman Josi.
The result completed a Southern California sweep for Nashville, one night after a comfortable shutout win in Los Angeles, and it underlined how quickly the Predators have climbed the standings. The Ducks, meanwhile, were left to rue a wasted night: they outshot Nashville and generated more than enough chances to win, but Annunen shut the door again, just as he has done so often against Anaheim. Ducks captain Granlund faced the media afterwards, while head coach Joel Quenneville was left to pick through a defeat that snapped three separate streaks in one night.
Ducks look to reset on Saturday
Anaheim, now 10-8-1, gets the chance to reset on Saturday when it hosts the New York Islanders. The Ducks will need Gauthier’s scoring touch and a sharper finish around the net if they are to start another run. Nashville, at 10-4-5, continues a five-game road trip as the hottest team in the league, with Wright, Hoglander and Struble all producing and Annunen giving them a reliable last line of defence. Landeskog scored twice as the Avalanche beat the Maple Leafs 6-3 in other NHL action, while Kaprizov won it in overtime as the Wild edged the Canadiens 2-1 in Montreal.
