{"id":554536,"date":"2026-04-17T13:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/554536\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:06:40","slug":"ducks-edge-predators-in-finale-will-face-edmonton-in-1st-round-playoff-series-redlands-daily-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/554536\/","title":{"rendered":"Ducks edge Predators in finale, will face Edmonton in 1st-round playoff series \u2013 Redlands Daily Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Ville Husso watches a puck soar into the net for a goal during the second period of a game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe (2) plays during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) celebrates his goal with center Ryan Poehling (25) and left wing Alex Killorn (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Alex Killorn (17) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Justin Barron (20) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of a game against the Ducks on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Jeffrey Viel (28) chases a loose puck past Nashville Predators left wing Zachary L\u2019heureux (68) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Adam Wilsby (83) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Alex Killorn (17) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Justin Barron (20) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) and Ducks center Mikael Granlund (64) battle for a loose puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe (2) shoots the puck to score a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe, second from right, celebrates his goal with left wing Cutter Gauthier (61), center Mason McTavish (23) and defenseman Jacob Trouba (65) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks center Mason McTavish (23) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators center Tyson Jost (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates the puck past Ducks center Ryan Poehling (25) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates his goal with right wing Luke Evangelista (77) during the second period of a game against the Ducks, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators center Ryan O\u2019Reilly (90) skates the puck past Ducks defenseman Ian Moore (3) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators left wing Reid Schaefer (49) collides with Ducks goaltender Ville Husso (33) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Ville Husso (33) lets a goal by Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) score during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of a game against the Ducks, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nashville<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) celebrates his goal during the first period of a game against the Ducks, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks center Ryan Poehling (25) and Nashville Predators center Fedor Svechkov (40) battle for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks right wing Troy Terry (19) skates the puck past Nashville Predators left wing Zachary L\u2019heureux (68) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier, left, celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks defenseman Tyson Hinds (60) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators center Ozzy Wiesblatt (89) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks center Ryan Poehling (25) plays during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks center Leo Carlsson (91) breaks his sticks he shoots the puck past Nashville Predators center Tyson Jost (17) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks right wing Troy Terry (19) plays during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks right wing Troy Terry (19) scores a goal past Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks right wing Troy Terry, middle, celebrates his tiebreaking power-play goal with center Mikael Granlund, left, and left wing Chris Kreider, right, with 2:54 left in the third period of their game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn. The Ducks won, 5-4, and will face the Edmonton Oilers in a first-round playoff series. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Ville Husso (33) blocks a shot on boal by Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks center Tim Washe (42) plays during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A catfish is removed from the ice before a game between the Nashville Predators and the Ducks on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A catfish is removed from the ice before the first period of a game between the Nashville Predators and the Ducks, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 32<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Ville Husso watches a puck soar into the net for a goal during the second period of a game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2014 Next stop: Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Troy Terry drew a high-sticking penalty then scored the go-ahead goal on the ensuing power play with 2:54 left, as the Ducks rallied to beat the Nashville Predators, 5-4, on Thursday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.<\/p>\n

The Ducks finished as the third seed in the Pacific Division and will face the second-place Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-seven first-round series that begins Monday night in Edmonton (7 p.m. PT).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all new for me so I\u2019m just excited,\u201d Terry told NHL.com. \u201cI\u2019m excited for our fan base. I\u2019m excited for a lot of people in this organization and just around Orange County. It is nice to be set and know where we\u2019re going. Obviously (Edmonton) has two of the best players in the world so they create their own challenges, and I\u2019m excited. I think it\u2019ll be a good series.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ducks, in the playoffs for the first time since 2018, came into the finale in third in the division but with five different scenarios still possible to determine the final playoff positions. Their win, combined with Edmonton\u2019s 6-1 rout of Vancouver, made the Kings\u2019 result in Calgary irrelevant and locked in the final seedings for the Ducks, Kings and Oilers.<\/p>\n

Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Alex Killorn and Tristan Luneau also scored for the Ducks\u00a0(43-33-6, 92 points). Mikael Granlund had three assists, John Carlon added two assists and Ville Husso made 17 saves.<\/p>\n

Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist for Nashville (38-34-10, 86 points), giving him 42 goals this season. Filip Forsberg also scored twice, giving him 40, and the Predators a pair of 40-goal scorers. Luke Evangelista and Ryan Ufko each added two assists, and Juuse Saros stopped 35 shots.<\/p>\n

Nashville forward Tyson Jost was called for a 4-minute high-sticking penalty on Terry with 3:57 to go, and Terry scored on a rebound during the first half of the penalty to give the Ducks a 5-4 lead, lifting the puck over the left pad of Saros from in front.<\/p>\n

The Ducks go into the postseason having gone 2-6-2 over their final 10 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to win a game,\u201d Ducks coach Joel Quenneville told NHL.com. \u201cI know we\u2019ve lost a couple close ones here in the last little bit here, and we had a little tough stretch going into the playoffs. It\u2019s nice having some positivity entering a real tough series ahead of us. Hey, we\u2019re excited to be playing playoff hockey. I think in the last period we got ignited there. Let\u2019s get excited about these playoffs and let\u2019s don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be an on-off switch come playoff time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gauthier scored 96 seconds into the game, recording his team-best 41st goal of the season with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle off a rush to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n

The Predators, eliminated from contention Monday night, answered when Stamkos scored his 41st on a wrist shot from the right circle midway through the first off an assist from rookie Cole O\u2019Hara, who was making his NHL debut.<\/p>\n

Forsberg scored on a tip-in on a power play at 15:54 for a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n

LaCombe scored his 10th goal of the season, a wrist shot through traffic from just inside the blue line that tied it at 2-2 with 20.8 seconds left in the first period.<\/p>\n

The Ducks moved back in front, 3-2, when Killorn scored on a one-timer from just above the right circle at 4:33 of the second period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just nice to see maybe a little more of an offensive explosion tonight,\u201d Terry told NHL.com. \u201cEven selfishly for myself and just some of the other guys because I think we\u2019ve been generating a lot the last week or so and just maybe not finishing. It was good to kind of get that rolling going into the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forsberg tied it at 14:37 of the second with a snap shot from the slot, then Stamkos gave Nashville a 4-3 lead just 46 seconds later when he scored on a wrist shot off a cross-ice feed from Ryan O\u2019Reilly while on a power play.<\/p>\n

Luneau tied it at 4:17 of the third, following up a play and scoring off the rebound of Granlund\u2019s shot. Luneau was playing his first game of the season for the Ducks after he was recalled from the AHL\u2019s San Diego Gulls on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Ducks outshot the Predators 30-12 over the final two periods in their 26th comeback win of the season, matching a franchise record achieved in 2013-14.<\/p>\n

DUCKS VS. OILERS SCHEDULE<\/p>\n

All times are PT<\/p>\n

Game 1 \u2013 at Oilers, Monday, 7 p.m., ESPN<\/p>\n

Game 2 \u2013 at Oilers, Wednesday, 7 p.m., TBS<\/p>\n

Game 3 \u2013 at Ducks, Fri., April 24, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV<\/p>\n

Game 4 \u2013 at Ducks, Sun., April 26, 6:30 p.m., ESPN<\/p>\n

x-Game 5 \u2013 at Oilers, Tues., April 28, TBA<\/p>\n

x-Game 6 \u2013 at Ducks, Thurs., April 30, TBA<\/p>\n

x-Game 7 \u2013 at Oilers, Sat., May 2, TBA<\/p>\n

x \u2013 If necessary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ducks goaltender Ville Husso watches a puck soar into the net for a goal during the second period…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5119],"tags":[233,5,2409,231,5281,4,60,2410,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-554536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nashville-predators","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nashville","11":"tag-nashville-predators","12":"tag-nashvillepredators","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-nhl-playoffs","15":"tag-predators","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116420202544563381","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}