Feb 27, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks celebrate after a hat trick goal by Anaheim Ducks right wing Kyle Palmieri (51) against the Nashville Predators during the second period at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Ducks devastated the Nashville Predators with a 5-1 win at home with 3 of their 5 goals coming from Kyle Palmieri.  Palmieri would get his first NHL hat trick, (and a natural hat trick at that), and become the Ducks leading goal scorer with 7 goals for the season.

 Game Story:

Scoring began early in the 1^st period as Pekka Rinne went behind the net to play a puck only to be surprised by the speed of Emerson Etem.  Etem was able to steal the puck and dish a quick pass to Nick Bonino who buried the puck in the empty net.

Kyle Palmieri would then get the best of both Shea Weber and Rinne as he showed off his speed to slip by Weber, and then dangled the puck past the poke check of Rinne.  Palmieri guided the puck around Rinne’s leg pad, making it 2-0.

Palmieri continued to make the most of his time on the top line as Getzlaf got a pass to Perry behind the goal line, who instantaneously made a pass to the front of the net to a waiting Palmieri.  Palmieri buried it for his second goal of the game and the Ducks’ 3rd.  Tic-tac-Palmieri.

In the 2^nd period the Ducks would start on the powerplay and yet again, Palmieri made his way to the net where he received a beautiful pass across the crease from Corey Perry.  Palmieri would snap it past Rinne and get his first NHL career hat trick, putting the Ducks up 4-0.

About halfway through the 2^nd Nashville would respond as the Predators were able to get numbers into the Anaheim zone and Craig Smith would receive a pass from Kevin Klein in front of the net, making it 4-1.

Towards the end of the 2^nd however Anaheim would go again go on the powerplay and Saku Koivu would get his 6^th goal of the year, knocking in a flailing puck that he, Bobby Ryan and Pekka Rinne were all competing for.  Ducks up 5-1.

The 3^rd period would start without Pekka Rinne as Steve Mason stepped in to replace him, and the game would end the way the 3^rd period began: Anaheim, 5-1.

Kyle Palmieri had 3 goals and  Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both had 3 assists in the game, making them the three stars of the game.  The Ducks powerplay has been looking absolutely lethal as of late as the Ducks now have 6 powerplay goals in two games.  The Ducks played solid in their own zone as well as they gave up 1 less goal than in their previous meetings with Nashville and avoided overtime, (not to mention the shootout).  It would be wrong to not acknowledge Viktor Fasth‘s performance as Fasth allowed only one goal on 21 shots, with a .952 save percentage.  Fasth has his 3rd win over Nashville this season, and his 9th win of the season overall.

The Ducks will go back-to-back later this week as they face the Minnesota Wild at home Friday, followed by a visit to the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.

Jan 26, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Nashville Predators center David Legwand (11) scores a goal on Anaheim Ducks goalie Viktor Fasth (30) during the third period at the Honda Center. The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators in a shootout with a final score of 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Anaheim Ducks will faceoff against the Nashville Predators tonight for the third and final time of the regular season.  Anaheim has won in shootouts in both previous games and tonight they hope to bounce back from Monday night’s loss to the Kings with a win over the Preds.

Nashville, on the other hand, is hoping to win their 2^nd in a row after beating the Stars in overtime Monday night.  Nashville currently sits at 4^th in the Western Conference with 23 points, two spots back of Anaheim who hold 2^nd in the Western Conference and NHL with 27 points.

The Ducks lost only their third regulation game of the season on Monday to their crosstown rivals, (and reigning Stanley Cup Champions), the Los Angeles Kings.  Despite two solid periods of play from the Ducks they couldn’t hold off the champs in the third, and the Ducks will need to forget the loss and press upward and onward tonight, hopefully keeping their 6-game, home winning streak alive.

Tonight’s game is the first of three in California for the Predators who will be making stops in San Jose and Los Angeles over the next week before returning home to face the Oilers a week from Friday.  Nashville’s offensive struggles continue as they sit second to last in goals per game in all of the NHL, this despite superstar Shea Weber finding his groove lately as evidenced by his recent streak of 7 points in 7 games.  As in previous meetings between these two clubs, the Ducks will need to find ways to get the puck past goaltender Pekka Rinne, who leads the NHL in shutouts with 3 this season.

Anaheim has seen its big guns come to life recently as Ryan Getzlaf leads the team in goals and Corey Perry has 8 points in the last 5 games.  Anaheim recently sent Peter Holland back down to the Norfolk Admirals, while also recalling Emerson Etem, who will be playing on the fourth line, (as it is suspected that Bobby Ryan will be again centering the second line).  Viktor Fasth is believed to be the starting goaltender for the Ducks tonight, and is looking for his 9^th NHL win after suffering his first loss in net on Monday.

With two teams at the top of the Western Conference tonight’s game should be an exciting one, as the Predators are determined not to be swept in their regular season series with the Ducks, while the Ducks will be looking to reassert themselves after Monday’s disappointing loss.  Tonight’s game will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket at 7 PM, (PST), with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 PM.