Ducks start strong to top Predators, end 5-game skid

Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish scored first-period goals and the visiting Anaheim Ducks held on for a 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators in the opener of a six-game road trip on Tuesday night.

Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, Jackson LaCombe and Alex Killorn each had two assists and Lukas Dostal made 39 saves for the Ducks, who had lost five in a row.

Alexandre Carrier, Philip Tomasino and Denis Gurianov scored and Juuse Saros made 28 saves, but surrendered five goals for the fourth time in his past five starts for Nashville, which had won three of four.

Strome scored on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 11:12 in the first period.

Vatrano deflected a shot from LaCombe off the skate of Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonough and into his own net for Vatrano's team-leading 19th goal of the season and a 2-0 lead at 14:11.

McTavish scored 16 seconds into the power play on a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle to make it 3-0 at 17:37.

Terry scored the lone goal of the second period when his backhand went off the stick of Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro and into his net to make it 4-0 at 3:05.

Adam Henrique assisted on the goal for his 500th NHL point.

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Radko Gudas also scored shortly after exiting the penalty box, getting stopped on a breakaway, but retrieving the puck and scoring on a wraparound to make it 5-0 at 3:16 of the third.

Carrier scored short-handed at 9:45 to make it 5-1. Gustav Nyquist assisted on the goal to extend his point streak to nine games (six goals, seven assists).

Tomasino scored with 2:58 left and Gurianov with 45 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Ducks forward Trevor Zegras left 6:25 into the game with an apparent left ankle injury.

Zegras, who was skating in his 200th NHL game, slid feet first into the side boards after the stick of Nashville forward Juuso Parssinen got caught in his skates. Zegras could not put any weight on his left skate as he was helped off the ice.

Anaheim forward Pavel Mintyukov also left late in the game after taking a hit from Michael McCarron.