Ducks 5, Predators 2
Jakob Silfverberg scored twice and Frederik Andersen finished with 44 saves as visiting Anaheim spoiled the return of Pekka Rinne by toppling Nashville.
Matt Beleskey netted his career-high 20th goal and defenseman Sami Vatanen also tallied for the Ducks, who have won eight of their last 10 to claim the league lead in points (74). Corey Perry scored into an empty net for his third goal in two games, Rickard Rakell notched two assists and Andersen recorded his 29th victory, tying him with Rinne for tops in the league.
Rinne turned aside 21 shots in his return from a three-week absence due to a knee injury. Colin Wilson and James Neal each scored their 17th goal to tie rookie Filip Forsberg for the team lead, but the Predators saw their franchise-record home winning streak halted at nine games and fell into a tie with surging St. Louis atop the Central Division.
Rinne turned over the puck in front of his net and Silfverberg made him pay by burying a backhand shot while short-handed 3:08 into the first period to open the scoring. Vatanen wired a shot that caromed off Nashville's Gabriel Bourque and past Rinne less than 10 minutes later before Anaheim doubled the advantage in short order, as Rakell set up Beleskey at 3:51 of the second and Silfverberg scored on a tip-in 43 seconds later to make it 4-0.
Andersen's bid for his fourth career shutout was denied by Wilson, who cleaned up the rebound of defenseman Victor Bartley's shot exactly four minutes into the third period. Neal netted a power-play goal with 4:07 left, but Perry ended the suspense by netting his team-leading 22nd goal with 1:19 remaining to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf was a late scratch after aggravating a lower-body injury in warmups. The team declared Getzlaf day-to-day. ... Wilson's 17th goal accounted for his career high in a season, eclipsing his previous best of 16 - set in both 2010-11 and 2013-14. ... Ducks D Eric Brewer notched an assist on Silfverberg's second goal for his first point with his new team.