*Photo from On the Forecheck*
Turns out that holding onto Filip Forsberg at the trade deadline worked out well for the Nashville Predators. Forsberg scored twice, Matt Duchene scored twice, and the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks with a 6-3 win on Monday night in Anaheim.
It was a two goal and 3 assist night for Forsberg that led the way for the Predators, with Forsberg contributing on 5 of the 6 Nashville goals. His two goals gave him 35 on the season, which sets the Predators team record for goals in a season, beating former teammate Viktor Arvidsson's 34 goal mark.
Forsberg said of the game as a whole that "I thought the first two periods we weren't really playing to our best, and I think Juice kept us in the game. They were taking it to us a little in the first two, and in the third we obviously came out hard. The power play was great all night, and we took it back in the third, finished the game the right way and got the win."
It was Derek Grant who got the scoring started, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead 9:18 into the game, good for his 10th goal of the season. Roman Josi scored to even the game 1-1 for the Predators, with his 18th goal of the season coming at the 16:48 mark of the first period.
In the second period, Forsberg and Mikael Granlund assisted on Ryan Johansen's power play goal 3:02 into the second, his 17th goal of the season. Troy Terry scored for the Ducks at the 11:26 mark of the second, tying the score at 2-2, thanks to assists from Kevin Shattenkirk and Trevor Zegras.
In the 3rd period, the Predators jumped out to a 4-2 lead thanks to a goal from Forsberg 1:45 into the period, and a power play goal from Duchene at the 3:08 mark of the 3rd. Grant scored his second goal of the night for the Ducks at the 10:13 mark of the 3rd, cutting the deficit to 4-3, but goals from Forsberg and Duchene sealed the 6-3 win.
Predators head coach John Hynes said that "It was a decent game for us, and I don't necessarily think it was an identity game for us, but I give the guys credit coming out here and facing a hungry team. The Ducks had a lot of changes to the team and they came out fast and hungry. I just liked the way that we stayed with it. You have to find different ways to win every night, and I felt we were able to do that."
It was starting goalie Juuse Saros who got the start in net and the win for the Predators. While David Rittich made one save while Saros was dealing with a skate issue, Saros played the rest of the game, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced, good for a .893 save percentage. His record is now 31-19-3.
Across the ice, John Gibson got the start for the Ducks, and got hit hard in this one. Gibson turned aside only 25 of the 30 Nashville shots he faced, good for a sub optimal .833 save percentage in the loss. Gibson's record on the season drops to a 17-20-9 mark with the loss.
The Predators are back in action on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, with Rittich lined up to start. Gibson is the likely starter for the Ducks as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Wednesday night.
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