NASHVILLE, Tenn. — James Neal scored the winning goal late in the second period, and the Nashville Predators held on to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Monday night and force the first Game 7 in franchise history.
The Predators had lost the previous five Game 6s when needing a win to stay alive in the playoffs, and they snapped a three-game skid to the Ducks to force this series back to Anaheim for the deciding game Wednesday night.
Shea Weber had an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left off an assist by Neal. Mattias Ekholm also scored a goal, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for the win.
Ryan Kesler scored a power-play goal for the Ducks. They return to Anaheim where they lost their last Game 7 last spring in the Western Conference finals to eventual Stanley Cup champ Chicago.
BLUES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2: Troy Brouwer tapped in his own rebound to snap a third-period tie and host St. Louis advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, eliminating defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago in Game 7 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series.
It is the first time the Blues advanced past the first round since 2012, when they beat San Jose in five games.
NOTES
PENGUINS: Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury skated alongside some of his teammates on Monday, but said he’s still dealing with concussion symptoms and is uncertain on when he will return.
Fleury hasn’t played since sustaining his second concussion of the season on March 31, but rookie Matt Murray has filled in capably as the Penguins closed out the Rangers in five games.
RED WINGS: There’s recognition on both sides that it might be best for Detroit and goalie Jimmy Howard to part ways.
Howard said Monday that he’d be “OK” with being traded from the only NHL team he has known, because he understands the situation. The Wings are committed to re-signing restricted free agent Petr Mrazek, who, at 24, is their goalie of the future.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.