Predators 4, Ducks 2
Patric Hornqvist set a franchise record by scoring in his seventh consecutive game and rookie Craig Smith added a pair of goals as the Nashville Predators topped the scuffling Ducks 4-2 in Anaheim on Wednesday night.
Hornqvist's first-period tally allowed him to break the team mark shared by J.P. Dumont and Alexander Radulov as the Predators won for the 10th time in the past 13 games against the Ducks.
Anaheim couldn't muster much against Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne as it dropped it sixth game in a row, its longest skid since Nov. 14-26, 2010.
After Smith struck just 1:20 into the game, Hornqvist's eighth goal during the streak doubled Nashville's lead 3 1/2 minutes later. The Swedish forward outworked Anaheim's Saku Koivu for a loose puck before sliding it past a prone Jonas Hiller.
Cam Fowler trimmed the deficit in the final minute of the period, firing a wrist shot through a crowd that eluded Rinne for his first goal of the year.
Martin Erat restored the two-goal lead on a penalty shot midway through the second period, but Francois Beauchemin responded just 1:24 later with his second goal of the campaign to keep things close.
Smith's second of the night at 1:36 of the third period put the game out of reach. He added an assist to seize the lead among rookie scorers with 14 points, two better than Edmonton's Ryan-Nugent Hopkins.