Ducks on even terms with Predators after OT victory

Before Game 4, Randy Carlyle stopped to get some gas.

The Anaheim Ducks, who had blown a third-period lead in a 2-1 loss on Tuesday, looked tired as they struggled to match their opponents’ pace of play. But rather than bag-skate the team or drill the players to death in what they did wrong, he chose to give them the day off. A couple days, really.

The Ducks did not skate Wednesday and held an optional skate before Game 4, where the emphasis was on “optional.” The idea was to put more fuel in the tank. Carlyle didn’t want any wasted energy. Better to save it for when it mattered the most. The Ducks needed that extra rest Thursday, in what was a wild game of momentum swings. Anaheim, which gave up a two-goal lead in the third period, had enough in the tank to defeat Nashville 3-2 in overtime to even up the best-of-seven Western Conference final at two games apiece heading back to Anaheim for Game 5 Saturday.

Nate Thompson scored the winner at 10:25 in overtime on a redirected pass from Corey Perry.

It was the first home loss of the playoffs for the Predators who, in case you were wondering, practised on Wednesday and skated before Game 4. And though they mounted a heck of a comeback in the third period and nearly pulled off the improbable, the first 20 minutes were probably their worst of the playoffs.

For the first couple of periods, this wasn’t the up-and-down, track meet type of game Nashville prefers. Instead, Anaheim ramped up the physicality and played keepaway. The Ducks, who had 20 total shots in Game 3, outshot the Predators 14-2 in the first period on Thursday night.

One of those shots was an absolute cannon.

Catching the Predators on a bad line change, Ducks forward Rickard Rakell stepped over the blueline and uncorked a slap shot that blew past Pekka Rinne.

The Predators came out with a little more energy in the second period, outshooting the Ducks 18-12. But midway through, it was Nick Ritchie who gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead on a perfectly placed wrist shot from just above the faceoff circle.

Nashville, meanwhile, finally got it going in the third period. With 6:27 remaining, the Predators put one past John Gibson when P.K. Subban blasted a shot from the point that banked in off the post.

Shortly after Subban’s goal, the Ducks took two more penalties — one for high-sticking and another for slashing — giving the Predators a 5-on-3 man advantage. Nothing came of it. But with the goalie pulled and 34.5 seconds remaining in the period, Viktor Arvidsson set up Filip Forsberg, who had scored the tying goal in Game 3, in front for the tying goal in Game 4, setting the stage for overtime.