Predators overcome Gauthier, Ducks to win sixth in row

ANAHEIM -- Shane Wright had a goal and two assists for the Nashville Predators in a 4-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday.

Jayden Struble and Nils Hoglander each had a goal and an assist, and Roman Josi had two assists for the Predators (10-4-5), who have won six in a row for the first time since March 2024.

Justus Annunen made 27 saves for Nashville a night after Juuse Saros made 30 saves in a 3-0 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

"We're rolling right now," Wright said. "Those are great wins in tough buildings."

Cutter Gauthier scored for the seventh straight game, and Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (10-8-1), who had won five in a row and scored at least five goals in eight straight. Laurent Brossoit made 18 saves.

"Tonight, we could only score two," Granlund said. "We've got to try and find a way to win these games where we're not scoring five goals a game."

Gauthier gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 8:08 of the first period after Beckett Sennecke cut into the slot with the puck and it was poked off his stick by Adam Edstrom. The puck went to Gauthier just below the right hash marks and he swept it into the net for his 14th goal in his seven-game goal streak.

Gauthier is the first NHL player since Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93 to score 14 goals in a seven-game span. He’s also just the sixth to do so since 1944-45 (also Mike Bossy in 1980-81, Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 and 1983-84, and Rick Tocchet in 1987-88).

Gauthier also extended his point streak to nine games (18 points; 14 goals, four assists).

The Predators scored 21 seconds later after Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau tried to poke the puck out of the Anaheim zone, but it hit Wright in the chest. Wright fed the puck ahead to Struble, who scored into the far side of the net from the inside edge of the left circle to tie it 1-1 at 8:29.

The Predators moved ahead 2-1 at 16:02 of the second when Hoglander got behind the defense and scored from between his legs on a drive to the net.

"Sometimes, you have to try something and I did," said Hoglander, who had two assists in the win against the Kings on Tuesday. "I was lucky the puck went in, so that was a big goal for the team."

Play briefly continued after Wright scored on a rebound at 11:55 of the third period, but after play stopped, replays showed the puck had caromed off the in-net camera, extending the lead to 3-1.

It was Wright’s first goal with Nashville after being traded to the Predators by the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 1. Josi had his first assist of the night on the goal, giving him 800 in the NHL.

"They've got some nifty players with some quick sticks," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They turned pucks over because they're strong on their sticks." 

Granlund scored on a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Sennecke to cut it to 3-2 at 12:11. The Ducks captain extended his point streak to seven games (14 points; four goals, 10 assists).

Steven Stamkos redirected a feed from Mavrik Bourque to finish off a 2-on-1 rush and make it 4-2 at 16:04.

"That was a tough game in this building and with that team," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "They're probably as fast as anybody, especially off the rush. Their power play is pretty scary, so they're a really good team. We had our hands full all game."

Sennecke missed the net on a breakaway at 7:24 of the second and Anaheim forward Leo Carlsson also missed the net on a backhand try on a short-handed breakaway in the opening minute of the third period.

"We had some chances that you dream about," said Ducks forward Troy Terry, who made his season debut for Anaheim after having surgery on June 9 to repair a chronic hip impingement and a labral tear. 

Terry was a minus-3 with no shots in 11:41.

"It was a lot of feeling out for me, whether it was in my game or my body, so I felt a lot better as it got on," Terry said.

NOTES: The Predators last won six in a row from March 13-26, 2024. ... Josi became the fifth defenseman born outside North America to hit the 800-point milestone, following Nicklas Lidstrom (1,142), Erik Karlsson (954), Victor Hedman (817) and Sergei Gonchar (811). … Josi (19 games) became the fastest Predators player to record 20 assists in a season, besting Steve Sullivan (20 GP in 2003-04). … Struble had his first multipoint game in 189 NHL games. The defenseman, who was traded to the Predators from the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 9, has equaled his career high of three goals in a season in 15 games with Nashville.