Recap: Ducks Falter in Third Period, Lose 4-2 to Preds

Isac Lundestrom and Brett Leason scored but the Ducks could not complete a season sweep of the Nashville Predators tonight in a 4-2 loss at Honda Center.

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The setback dropped Anaheim to 20-34-3 on the season and 2-5-1 since returning from the NHL All-Star Break earlier this month.

Lundestrom and Leason scored for Anaheim, wth the latter briefly cutting the home side's deficit to one with just over two minutes to play in regulation. Max Jones and Brett Leason and Mason McTavish tallied assists. Lukas Dostal made 25 saves.

Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Michael McCarron and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Preds, who completed a perfect five-game western road trip and improved to 32-25-2 on the season. Kevin Lankinen earned the win between the pipes, his eighth of the season, with stops on 30-of-32 Anaheim attempts.

Nashville claimed the night's first lead exactly one minute into the middle frame, with Josi beating Dostal over the glove on a one-timer from the point.

The Nashville captain Josi has points in four of his last five games and is now tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in scoring (54 points) this season.

Anaheim would answer midway through the period on a remarkable setup pass by Jones. With the Ducks trying to gain the blue line along the left wing wall, Jones turned his back to the defense and then a no-look backhanded pass to the middle of the ice, connecting with a sprinting Lundestrom for a breakaway that the centerman deposited past Lankinen to level the score.

Lundestrom has collected three goals and five points in 22 games since returning from an offseason Achilles injury.

With the secondary helper, Leason furthered his career-high totals in points (13) and assists (seven) this season.

Nashville would go back ahead early in the third though on another point shot through traffic, this one a wrister from Forsberg after an offensive zone faceoff won by the Preds.

Forsberg scored in two of three matchups against Anaheim this season. The All-Star winger paces the Preds in points and goals this season, and is tied for second in assists.

McCarron then delivered a crucial insurance goal five minutes later, finishing off a rebound from in tight past a lunging Dostal.

Leason would momentarily bring the Ducks back within one in the dying minutes of regulation, shoveling home a centering pass from McTavish behind the net.

The goal was still be too little, too late for the Ducks though as Nyquist's empty-netter on the next shift sealed Nashville's road victory.

The Ducks visit the San Jose Sharks Thursday at SAP Center.