Ducks extend home run with 5-2 win over Predators

NHL: Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks25 Jan 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Jansen Harkins (38) celebrates after scoring past Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mason McTavish scored twice and Trevor Zegras and Jansen Harkins each had a goal and an assist to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

It was the second straight multi-goal game for McTavish, who also scored twice in a 5-1 win over visiting Pittsburgh on Thursday. Paval Mintyukov also scored a goal and Brett Leason had two assists for Anaheim, which improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven home contests.

Lukas Dostal took over for starter John Gibson after the first period and finished with 31 saves. Gibson stopped nine of 10 shots in the opening period before leaving with an upper-body injury.

Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly scored and Filip Forsberg had two assists to extend his scoring streak to 10 games for Nashville, which had its season-high five-game winning streak snapped. Forsberg, who entered the game riding a seven-game hitting streak to tie a franchise high, failed to score on six shots. Juuse Saros made 30 saves.

Anaheim took a 1-0 lead at the 4:15 mark of the first period when Mintyukov’s sharp angled shot from the bottom of the left circle screamed past Soros, who kicked the puck over the goal line.

Nashville tied it on a breakaway goal by Nyquist, who tipped a backhand shot into the upper left corner past Gibson’s blocker side.

The Ducks regained the lead with just five seconds left in the period on a backdoor.

The Predators tied it at 2-2 at the 5:07 mark of the second period on O’Reilly’s backhand recovery of an Adam Wilsby shot. But Anaheim responded with three goals in a 3:34 span midway through the period to build a 5-2 lead. Harkins and Zegras both scored on rebounds, while McTavish took a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle on a power play for his fifth goal in the last three games.

Nashville pulled Soros for an extra attacker with 4:45 left, but Dostal stopped all three shots he faced before the final buzzer.

-Field level media

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