Anaheim uses rally to get even in series
The Anaheim Ducks were down a game in the Western Conference finals and down 2-0 in Game 2 against Pekka Rinne, the most dominant goalie in these Stanley Cup playoffs.
That’s when Sami Vatanen got the puck and thought he saw a sliver of room over Rinne’s shoulder.
“So I just closed my eyes and shot it in there,” Vatanen said.
After every slow start and tight game over their past month, not much can ruffle these Ducks. Once they opened a crack in Rinne and the Nashville Predators with Vatanen’s goal, they started a deluge that evened the series.
Nick Ritchie broke a tie late in the second period, and host Anaheim roared back from that early two-goal deficit for a 5-3 victory Sunday night.
Just when the Ducks appeared to be in serious danger of losing two straight home games to start their second straight series, they used a four-goal surge in an 18:07 span to even the series. Three of the goals came in the second period.
“The second, they got to control the tempo of the game and had the puck a little bit more, and obviously that plays into their hands,” Rinne said. “But we still battled back. Obviously, disappointed personally in that second period.”
Jakob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase also scored for the Ducks before Antoine Vermette added an empty-netter.
The Predators hadn’t allowed four goals in any game during their Stanley Cup playoff run before Anaheim got five.
“I wish we didn’t get down in the first place, but I think we have three or four lines that get going and just keep punching through,” Anaheim forward Rickard Rakell said. “It’s almost like we feel, ‘Oh, we’ve got nothing to lose now.’ It’s almost like that’s when we play our best game. Maybe sometimes we shouldn’t wait for that to get going.”
Game 3 is Tuesday night in Nashville.