Ducks level NHL west finals with Predators

May 19, 2017 - 6:47 AM Corey Perry's goal in extra time has helped the Anaheim Ducks tie the NHL's Western Conference finals at 2-2 with Nashville.

Perry's shot deflected in off defenceman PK Subban's stick 10:25 into overtime, and the Ducks snapped the Predators' 10-game home playoff winning streak on Thursday night with a 3-2 victory.

"I was just trying to create traffic or create a bounce and create havoc in front," Perry said. "And that's what they say in overtime: You throw it on net - never know what's going to happen."

Perry matched Mel Hill (1939) and Maurice Richard (1951) for the most OT goals in a post-season in NHL history. Perry also tied Teemu Selanne's franchise record with his ninth winning goal and moved past Selanne for sole possession of second in Ducks' history with his 36th post-season goal.

John Gibson made 32 saves for Anaheim, who were the last team to beat the Predators in Nashville in the playoffs last spring in game four of their first-round series. The Predators had matched the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings with their 10-game streak but missed matching Colorado's 11-0 playoff run in 1996-97.

Rickard Rakell and Nick Ritchie took the Ducks to a 2-0 lead. But Subban scored with 6:27 left, and Filip Forsberg tied it with 34.5 seconds remaining in regulation time with his fourth goal in four games.

Perry ended the second overtime in the series with a goal originally credited to Nate Thompson. Perry stopped the puck as the Predators tried to clear and shot from the right boards at a severe angle. Subban stuck out his stick trying to poke-check the puck away, only to re-direct it past goalie Pekka Rinne.

"They caught a lucky bounce tonight on the redirect that ended up being a difference maker," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.

The Ducks have matched their franchise record with their fourth overtime win this post-season. They are 4-1 with the lone loss in this series opener to Nashville. They went 4-0 in OT on their way to winning the 2007 Stanley Cup.

Game five is on Saturday night in Anaheim.

Source: AAP