Nashville fly by Ducks, 4-1

In Nashville, Matt Duchene scored twice for the Predators in a 4-1 win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks.

Juuse Saros made 27 saves in the Preds win.

“We have a great goaltender, and he helps us a lot,” Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm said. “I can’t credit him enough, to be honest with you. I think he’s one of, if not the best goaltender in the world right now.

“I thought tonight we got a little loose at times, gave up some shots and some odd-man rushes we don’t want. But there he is, standing in for us.”

The Predators improved to 33-20-4.

Adam Henrique was the lone striker for the Ducks.

“It’s hard when you’re missing a lot of guys, especially [Zegras] and [Getzlaf] who bring that offensive side to us,” the Ducks’ Troy Terry said. “It’s hard. That’s a good hockey team that we just played, a team that doesn’t give you a whole lot to work with offensively. At the end of the day, we had our chances. I had my chances and I’ve got to score.”

Anaheim fell to 27-24-9.

“We never want to accept losing and this is about winning each and every day,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “I thought our guys battled hard. I thought they gave us about everything that they could. We were able to hang in there and swing away with them. They were fortunate to get a couple bounces their way and we didn’t. That’s a really sound hockey team and obviously a lineup that’s full.”

Filip Forsberg kicked in a goal for the Predators.

“[Being linemates with Duchene all season] definitely helps and it builds chemistry in practice,” Forsberg said. “I think we think the game pretty much the same way. We both try to create offense for one another. We both can pass, both can shoot, so I think it’s something we’ve got to keep doing.”

Colton Sissons also added a single marker for Nashville.

Ducjene’s second goal was an empty-net strike for the icing.

“We were pretty average tonight, but found a way to get it done,” he said. “We got some big saves, and special teams were big. You’re not going to be at you’re best every night, but we still found a way.”

John Gibson made 26 saves in the Anaheim loss.