Recap: Ducks Complete Season Sweep of Preds with 4-1 Win in Nashville

The Ducks rode a dominant second period to a comeback win on the road, tonight downing the Nashville Predators 4-1 at Bridgestone Arena.

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With the win, Anaheim improved to 30-31-8 on the season and capped a three-game road trip at 1-1-1. The Ducks remain nine points out of a Western Conference Wild Card berth.

Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish led the Ducks offensively with multi-point nights, part of a three-goal middle frame that ultimately proved the difference. Jackson LaCombe, Troy Terry and Alex Killorn also netted second-period goals for the Ducks, helping clinch a three-game season sweep of the Predators.

Brett Leason, Pavel Mintyukov, Ryan Strome and Drew Helleson collected assists, while John Gibson earned his 10th win of the season with stops on 33-of-34 Nashville shots in his return from injury.

The victory was also the 203rd of Gibson's NHL career, moving him within three of Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the most in franchise history.

Steven Stamkos scored the lone goal for the Preds, who fell to 26-34-8 with their fourth straight loss. Goaltender Justus Annunen made 30 saves.

Nashville struck first with a power-play goal less than halfway through the opening period on a quintessential Stamkos one-timer, a bullet from the left circle up over the sliding Gibson's blocker.

Stamkos has scored six goals in his last six games and owns 11 points in his last eight outings, the most productive stretch of his first year in Nashville. The future Hall of Famer ranks second among team leaders in goals (23) and third in points (44) this season.

The Ducks would claim full control in the second period though, striking three times in a nine-minute span - and with the club's young core right in the middle of the action.

The tying goal came on the first of two well-executed rush chances. Leason carried the puck into the zone down left wing, eventually feeding a cross-seam pass to McTavish in the right circle for a low shot on net, which the crashing LaCombe potted from just outside the crease while fighting off a Nashville defender.

LaCombe's 12 goals on the season are tied for ninth among all NHL blueliners, alongside Tampa's Victor Hedman and Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin. The 24-year-old leads Ducks defensemen in points, goals and assists on the season, just his second in the NHL.

Terry then put the Ducks ahead with six minutes to go in the second on another play created by Anaheim's speed through neutral ice. Zegras first flew down left wing, chasing after a Mintyukov pass before pulling back to the middle for a drop pass to Terry, who wired it over Annunen's glove from the high slot.

Terry has registered points in three of his last four games and a team-best 51 points in 64 games this season. The two-time All-Star winger now sits one shy of his fourth straight 20-goal season.

Zegras then made it 3-1 a couple shifts later, capping a dominant second period for the visitors on a resilient effort in front of the net. The initial shot came from Helleson along the right wing wall, which Annunen stopped with the blocker. The rebound, however, floated up in the air outside the crease, giving Zegras a couple of baseball swings at the loose puck - which eventually caromed into the yawning net past the sprawled out goaltender.

With a goal and an assist about three minutes apart, Zegras has now collected six points in his last six games. Since returning from a torn meniscus in late January, Zegras owns 13 points in 20 total appearances.

The two-assist night gave McTavish five helpers in the last three games, and 43 points on the season, matching his career high with 13 games still to play. The centerman, tonight matched with Leason and Trevor Zegras on the wing, has been Anaheim's most consistent offense force since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, compiling 16 points in 15 appearances over the last month. During that span, McTavish is tied for fifth in the NHL in even-strength points and tied for sixth in total scoring.

That three-goal outburst would be more than enough support for Gibson, as Killorn's empty-netter capped the scoring in Anaheim's 4-1 road victory.

The Ducks begin a five-game homestand Sunday against Carolina.