Anaheim Ducks Fall Behind Early, Lose to Predators
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
It has been a common theme for the Anaheim Ducks as of late to get off to a sluggish start, fall behind by a few goals, and make a remarkable comeback.
That wasn’t the case Friday night.
The Nashville Predators stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and that was plenty as they flew past the Ducks 5-2 at Honda Center.
Nashville (34-32-11) jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from Colin Wilson. Less than a minute after Wilson’s second tally, Mike Fisher joined the party and his backhand shot gave the Predators a 3-0 lead as the boo birds surfaced at Honda Center.
Kyle Palmieri would get the Ducks on the board late in the first to make things interesting, but Patric Hornqvist finished off a nifty wrap-around past Jonas Hiller to give the Predators a three-goal cushion once again.
Anaheim (50-19-8) would net one early in the second period to cut the deficit to 4-2 thanks to Daniel Winnik‘s 5th goal of the season. But any hope of a comeback was shutdown after Fisher pounded home the rebound from a Shea Weber slap shot that bounced off the mask of Frederik Andersen right into the crease. Andersen had no chance.
After giving up four goals on nine shots, Hiller was relieved of his goaltending duties in favor of Andersen. The rookie would stay in the game and make six saves on seven shots, but would be replaced by Hiller in the third period after an apparent upper-body injury.
No word on the severity of Andersen’s injury at this time.
In a week full of come-from-behind victories, including the largest comeback in franchise history Monday night against the Winnipeg Jets, Friday night was a bit of an unusual site for Ducks fans.
Anaheim leads the league in comeback victories, but wasn’t able to notch one against the Predators.
With the loss, the Ducks failed to extend their lead in the Pacific Division. With the San Jose Sharks sitting idle, Anaheim is clinging to a one-point lead with five games remaining.
Next up, the Ducks will head back to Western Canada to take on the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks on back-to-back evenings on Sunday and Monday.
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