With 3:51 remaining, Adam Henrique scores to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory. This is their fifth straight road win and sixth third-period comeback win, which is a record for the most victories by an NHL team through the first 15 games of a season.
This season, the Ducks appear to relish misfortune, and they’re rising to unprecedented heights in the process.
With 3:51 left in the game on Tuesday, Adam Henrique gave the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators.
The Ducks, who have won five straight road games—four of them came from behind—saw goals from Cam Fowler and a Gordie Howe hat trick consisting of a goal, an assist, and a fighting major from Radko Gudas. Andrew Gibson produced 29 saves.
After 15 games of the season, the Ducks became the first club in NHL history to win six games via third-period comebacks. The Ducks, who fell down 2-0 in the second frame on Tuesday, now share the league lead in comeback victories overall (six), having already triumphed in three multi-goal games this season.
“We don’t want to be down goals and then have to chase games, but we seem to be confident when we are down,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “I think the attitude and the mentality is kind of a winners’ mentality.”
The collapsing Predators, who have lost four straight and six of their previous seven games, were led by Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi in scoring while Juuse Saros made 17 saves.
As the third quarter came to an end, Urho Vaakanainen, playing from the left point, deflected a slap shot towards the Nashville net, going by Saros and Henrique. Henrique was eventually given credit for the goal, which had previously been given to Vaakanainen. Vaakanainen, who was participating in his 79th NHL game, would have scored his first goal ever. Moreover, he helped Gudas score the game-tying goal.
“I saw there was a little bit of space so I tried to go hard and high,” Vaakanainen said. “I tried to shoot to score.”
At 1:03 in the second, Forsberg scored the first goal of the match, and on a power play at 14:28, Josi doubled Nashville’s lead with a slap shot from the top of the left circle.
The Ducks had successfully completed 20 straight power plays before Josi’s goal.
At 17:28 of the second, Fowler defeated Saros with a wrist shot from the right circle. Mason McTavish helped Fowler score, extending his point streak to three games. In his previous eleven games, he has found the scoresheet ten times.
“Pretty much every goal was a lack of coverage, mistakes in our end,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought besides that, I thought we were pretty airtight.”
At 4:11 of the third, Gudas scored his third goal of the year to tie the score. In 72 games played the previous season, he scored two goals.
He battled Jeremy Lauzon of Nashville in the middle of the second.
“Good night for me, I’ll take it,” Gudas said.
UP NEXT
The Ducks play at Colorado on Wednesday at 6 p.m. PT.
