Ducks grab series lead with Game 5 victory

ANAHEIM --Sami Vatanen scored the game-winning goal early in the third period, and Frederik Andersen made 26 saves to help the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 victory against the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Honda Center on Saturday.
It was the first game won by the home team in the series.

David Perron, Ryan Garbutt, Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler scored for the Ducks, who have won three in a row and lead the best-of-7 series 3-2. Game 6 is at Bridgestone Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; CNBC, SN, TVA Sports).
Perron scored 22 seconds after Ryan Johansen gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 14:13 of the second period.
It was the first goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Perron and Johansen.
"When they scored that goal, they were playing pretty well, and I don't think we were playing our best," Perron said. "I think [Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau] was trying to change things up (offensively) and he did a good job of waking guys up. It was a big goal, and then we followed things up on the next shift."

Garbutt scored his first goal of the 2016 playoffs at 16:23 to put the Ducks ahead to stay.
Andersen has allowed three goals on 87 shots in three starts, all wins, since taking over for John Gibson, who started Games 1 and 2.
"He's showing a lot of confidence, but I've seen him play like this," Boudreau said. "There have been pockets of time where you just know nothing is going to beat him unless it's something he can't see. Hopefully, he can continue playing like that."
The Predators have been unable to solve Andersen or the Ducks penalty kill, which is 14-for-14 in the past three games.

"I think [we played better], but it doesn't matter if we played a better game; we lost," Johansen said. "It's do or die. It's about finding a way to get it in the net and keeping them from scoring. We have to throw them everything we've got."
Miikka Salomaki also scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.
Johansen opened the scoring when he sent a sharp-angled backhand high into the Anaheim net for a 1-0 Nashville lead. Perron's point shot went off Predators defenseman Roman Josi's skate and over an outstretched Rinne at 14:35 to tie it.
"We get a lead, and then they get one back right away," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's a really tough goal like that. That's kind of a real fluke redirect that goes up and over like that. Another one that's an unfortunate bounce as well."

Garbutt stuffed the puck in past Rinne after winning a puck battle on the forecheck. Ryan Getzlaf and Perron had the assists.
"That was hard work," Boudreau said. "He raced down the boards and beat [Mike Fisher and Shea Weber] to a puck. And then he finished it behind the net. That's just hard work and determination, and that's all him. When he plays like that, he's very effective."
Vatanen made it 3-1 at 8:34 of the third period. After his hooking penalty expired, Vatanen came out of the box and took a feed from Jakob Silfverberg, went in on a breakaway and beat Rinne.
Salomaki cut the Anaheim lead to 3-2 with 6:31 left when he scored off a rebound from a Weber slap shot.

Fowler restored the Ducks' two-goal lead when he scored a power-play goal with a slap shot from the point with 3:23 remaining after taking a pass from Vatanen. It was Anaheim's second power-play goal of the series and first since Game 1.
Kesler scored into an empty net with 1:46 left.
Anaheim is 6-0 in Game 5 dating to the 2013 postseason.
On the brink of elimination, the Predators are trying to recapture what it was that helped them win the first two games of the series. They're holding on to the notion that the series can change with a single bounce.
"My little brother's team was in a Game 7, Kelowna vs. Victoria, and they tied it up in Game 7 with 0.2 seconds left in Game 7 and won in overtime," Johansen said. "It's a funny game. You get some bounces sometimes. They got theirs tonight and hopefully we can keep up our same effort, battle at home and get some bounces our way."