Predators finish off Ducks, advance to finals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A date with history awaited the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
They kept it, in spite of being badly outshot by the Anaheim Ducks.
Colton Sissons' third goal of the game at 14:00 of the third period broke a tie and led Nashville to a 6-3 win that gave the Predators the Western Conference finals four games to two.
The Predators clinched their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
With the score 3-3, Sissons ripped home a one-timer from the left circle that was set up by Calle Jarnkrok, three seconds after the Predators killed off a power play following a delay-of-game call on Roman Josi.
Filip Forsberg and Austin Watson iced it at 17:38 and 18:26, respectively, with empty-net goals.
Nashville will play either the Ottawa Senators or the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Cup finals, starting May 29 in the Eastern Conference venue.
Goalie Pekka Rinne made 38 saves for Nashville, which was outshot 41-18 as Anaheim controlled most of the last 50 minutes of action.
Ducks goalie Jonathan Bernier, making his first career playoff start with starter John Gibson (lower-body injury) scratched, stopped only 12 of the 16 shots he faced.
Sissons made it 3-1 at 3:00 of the third period with a rebound marker, but Anaheim equalized on Chris Wagner's wrister from the left post at 5:00 and Cam Fowler's point blast at 8:52.
After ceding the first goal in the last three games, Nashville required just 81 seconds to score first in this one. Watson fired a wrister from the edge of the right circle that appeared to hit the stick of Anaheim's Ryan Kesler before finding its way into the net for Watson's third playoff goal.
Sissons made it 2-0 at 8:47, taking Pontus Aberg's pass in the high slot and wiring a wrister Bernier for his third postseason marker as the sellout crowd shook the arena.
But the Ducks turned the momentum when they didn't even allow the Predators a shot during a five-minute power play following a boarding major on Nick Ritchie at 11:38 of the first that led to his ejection.
Anaheim got on the board at 4:45 of the second period as Ondrej Kase took Ryan Getzlaf's feed near the left post and scored his second goal of the playoffs on a wrister. The Ducks outshot Nashville 26-8 through two periods but still trailed by a goal after 40 minutes.
NOTES: Anaheim RWs Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves (lower-body injuries) didn't even make the trip east for Game 6. Rakell had seven goals in 15 playoff games. ... Nashville captain Mike Fisher and RW Craig Smith also missed Game 6 with an undisclosed injuries. Smith skated in warmups but hasn't played since Game 6 of the St. Louis series ... The Ducks' other notable scratches were Ds Korbinian Holzer, Clayton Stoner and Shea Theodore. ... Other Predators scratches included RW PA Parenteau and LW Harry Zolnierczyk.