The Ducks fell to 2-6 all-time in Game 7s and are 1-4 at Honda Center. They lost Game 7 at home to the Red Wings in 2013, the Los Angeles Kings in 2014 and the Chicago Blackhawks last year. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau is 1-7 in Game 7s with the Ducks and Washington Capitals.
But the Ducks felt this loss stung more than the first three.
"With the way the score was, and the way we were pushing, I'd say yes," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Especially with how hard we had to push from November on just to get to where we were. We did everything the hard way. We thought, in the third period, we still believed we were going to tie it up. It just wasn't meant to be."
Despite the two early goals by Nashville, Anaheim controlled play for most of the game. The Ducks outshot the Predators 28-10 in the final two periods and had odd bounces and open looks that will haunt them through the summer.
"I thought we dominated them," Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano said. "I didn't think they had any good looks, and we hit a couple posts. We had some power plays. This was probably one of our best games of the series, but it wasn't meant to be. I don't know what it is. I can't explain it. We can't get a bounce, it seems, to start off these games, and they end up killing us."