In Anaheim Sunday night, the Ducks hosted the Nashville Predators for a match of western conference big guns. Nothing was decided until Ryan Kesler buried a goal in the skills competition to beat Carter Hutton for the 4-3 win for the Ducks.
For the Ducks, it was just another one-goal game and win.
“Good teams know how to win those one-goal games,” Kesler said. “That’s what they are in playoffs. They’re tight, one-goal games. If we know how to win them now, it’s going to make it that much easier in the playoffs.”
The Ducks needed a big third period to get the game even and outshot the Predators 14-3 in the final frame. It was not until Francois Beauchemin managed a puck past Hutton 17:43 that Anaheim could look at getting at least a point out of the game.
“We’re first in NHL,” Beauchemin said. “You can’t really ask for more than that. Knowing that, we know we’ve got better hockey to play. We can be better at staying out of the box. Those are things we need to focus on. I think if we do that, we’ll be successful.”
Nashville lost a lead late for the second straight game. In Los Angeles, the Preds had a three-goal lead evaporate before winning in extra time over the weekend.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s nothing we can’t fix,” the Predators’ Craig Smith said. “We’ll go back and look at the mistakes that we made, if there were any, and work on it.
“We’re an extremely nitpicky team. We want to be the best in every category, every night. After tonight, there’s something to work on, definitely.”
Hutton took the loss in the Nashville net making 30 saves on the night.
“I thought I played really well,” Hutton said. “I thought I gave us a chance to win. I think we’re giving up a lot late in games. It’s something that’s happened to us a lot late in games. I can only control what I can.”
Corey Perry scored for the Ducks, his first goal since late November.
“When he starts scoring, it’s always a good sign,” Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It means he’s getting better. He’s starting to feel it a little bit more.”
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