The Anaheim Ducks defeated Nashville 5-2 on Saturday night to end the Predators’ five-game winning streak. Mason McTavish scored two goals for the second consecutive game, while Jansen Harkins and Trevor Zegras each scored 62 seconds apart in the second period.
Five of McTavish’s 11 goals this season have come in the last three games. When his final-second attempt at the Predators’ empty net went wide right, he lost out on his first career hat trick.
After missing 22 games after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, Zegras had three points in three games (one goal, two assists). He also got an assist.
The Ducks also had goals from Pavel Mintyukov. Lukas Dostal repelled 31 shots while in goal for the last two periods. After nine saves and one goal allowed in the first period, John Gibson left the game due to an upper-body injury.
The Predators had goals from Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist and two assists from Filip Forsberg. 30 saves were made by Juuse Saros.
Takeaways
Predators: Forsberg became the second player from Nashville to have a 10-game point streak this season, joining Jonathan Marchessault. After Matt Duchene (10) and Roman Josi (13 games) in 2021–2022, they are only the second pair of teammates in franchise history to record double-digit streaks in the same season.
Ducks: Six games faster than the previous season, they reached the 20-win milestone in their 49th game.
Key moment
Ten minutes into the second period, Harkins grabbed a rebound to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead. At 11:48, Zegras added a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle to give them a two-goal lead.
Key stat
With 49 goals in his career, McTavish surpassed Zegras to become the second-most goal scorer in Anaheim history who is 21 years of age or younger. The leader is Paul Kariya (68).
Up next
The Ducks visit Seattle on Tuesday, and the Predators host Vancouver on Wednesday.