Ducks double up Preds
Nashville Predators (2) vs Anaheim Ducks (4)..........
Logan Couture scored two first period goals and added a late second period assist as the Ducks doubled up on the WCHL leading Predators. The loss gave Nashville three in a row, while the win was Anaheim's fifth in as many games.
Logan Couture opened the scoring at the ten second mark of the first as he took a feed from Mikkel Boedker while darting through the neutral zone and wristed a puck between the legs of Jonathan Quick, the second assist was given to Patrice Bergeron who won the opening face-off clean from Ryan Kesler. Couture struck again at 13:54 on a Ducks' powerplay as Kesler was victimized again in the face-off cycle, as he won the draw but so well that it went off Boedker and right on Couture's stick where he easiely slid it past Quick. Nashville led 15-8 after 20 in shots on net.
Ryan Kesler cut the Ducks lead to one at 3:56 of the middle period as he deflected a Dmitry Kulikov slapshot over the shoulder of Tuukka Rask in net for Anaheim, Milan Lucic was given the second assist. Boedker got his third point of the night as he restored the Ducks' two goal lead at 18:50 with his twelfth goal of the year as he cut across the front of the net and roofed a backhand past Quick. The Preds coach Dallas Eakins pulled Quick in favor of Niklas Backstrom after that goal, the Ducks' tender allowed three goals on fourteen shots. Nashville led 22-14 in shots after forty.
Anaheim's Sami Vatanen skated into the Predator's zone and fired a slapshot that was accidently redirected by Pred Jonathan Sim, the goal came at the five minute mark of the third. Nashville got one back at 8:22 as Artem Anisimov beat Bergeron in the faceoff circle to the right of Rask, the puck went back to Frolik who snapped the biscuit past a startled Rask.
Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for his 19th win of the campaign. Backstrom stopped 13 of 14 in relief for the Preds.
MOLSON'S 3 STARS:
1 - Logan Couture (Ana)....... 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots
2 - Mikkel Boedker (Ana)...... 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 shot
3 - Sami Vatanen (Ana)......... 1 goal, +2, 1 shot
Reporting For The WCHL Network
Peter Puck
Logan Couture scored two first period goals and added a late second period assist as the Ducks doubled up on the WCHL leading Predators. The loss gave Nashville three in a row, while the win was Anaheim's fifth in as many games.
Logan Couture opened the scoring at the ten second mark of the first as he took a feed from Mikkel Boedker while darting through the neutral zone and wristed a puck between the legs of Jonathan Quick, the second assist was given to Patrice Bergeron who won the opening face-off clean from Ryan Kesler. Couture struck again at 13:54 on a Ducks' powerplay as Kesler was victimized again in the face-off cycle, as he won the draw but so well that it went off Boedker and right on Couture's stick where he easiely slid it past Quick. Nashville led 15-8 after 20 in shots on net.
Ryan Kesler cut the Ducks lead to one at 3:56 of the middle period as he deflected a Dmitry Kulikov slapshot over the shoulder of Tuukka Rask in net for Anaheim, Milan Lucic was given the second assist. Boedker got his third point of the night as he restored the Ducks' two goal lead at 18:50 with his twelfth goal of the year as he cut across the front of the net and roofed a backhand past Quick. The Preds coach Dallas Eakins pulled Quick in favor of Niklas Backstrom after that goal, the Ducks' tender allowed three goals on fourteen shots. Nashville led 22-14 in shots after forty.
Anaheim's Sami Vatanen skated into the Predator's zone and fired a slapshot that was accidently redirected by Pred Jonathan Sim, the goal came at the five minute mark of the third. Nashville got one back at 8:22 as Artem Anisimov beat Bergeron in the faceoff circle to the right of Rask, the puck went back to Frolik who snapped the biscuit past a startled Rask.
Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for his 19th win of the campaign. Backstrom stopped 13 of 14 in relief for the Preds.
MOLSON'S 3 STARS:
1 - Logan Couture (Ana)....... 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots
2 - Mikkel Boedker (Ana)...... 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 shot
3 - Sami Vatanen (Ana)......... 1 goal, +2, 1 shot
Reporting For The WCHL Network
Peter Puck
