Predators 5, Ducks 4
Sergei Kostitsyn scored twice in the first period and the Nashville Predators held off a late rally for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.
Nick Spaling and Jordin Tootoo collected a goal and an assist apiece and David Legwand added a shorthanded tally for Nashville (40-25-10), which has won five in a row and seven of eight.
Patric Hornqvist and Kevin Klein added two assists apiece and Pekka Rinne made 34 saves for the Predators.
Sidelined for 16 games with vertigo-related symptoms, Jonas Hiller made his first start in goal for Anaheim (41-28-5) since Feb. 13.
Nashville forced him back to bench with three quick goals. Kostitsyn scored his first on a rebound just 2:04 into the contest and Spaling made it 2-0 at 11:18. After Kostitsyn scored his second 19 seconds later on a screen shot from the right point, Dan Ellis replaced Hiller.
Teemu Selanne tallied twice on 5-on-3 power-play opportunities, Corey Perry also scored twice and captain Ryan Getzlaf notched three assists for the Ducks.
Selanne’s first goal came with 10:21 left in the game, 10 seconds after Legwand scored shorthanded for a 5-1 Nashville lead. Selanne made it 5-3 with 4:46 remaining and Perry was credited with a goal that was kicked in by Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter with 26.5 seconds left.