Recap: McTavish Strikes Twice as Ducks Smash Preds 5-2

Mason McTavish recorded his second straight multi-goal game and Lukas Dostal made 31 saves out of the bullpen, powering the Ducks to a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators tonight at Honda Center.

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The win, Anaheim's second in a row to close a three-game homestand, pushed the club to 20-23-6 on the season. The Ducks have earned points in six of their last seven home games (5-1-1) and remain nine points out of a Western Conference Wild Card position.

McTavish scored twice for the second time in three nights, including the power-play goal that gave Anaheim a commanding three-goal cushion headed to the third period.

Pavel Mintyukov, Jansen Harkins and Trevor Zegras also scored, as the Ducks improved to 19-0-3 on the season when scoring at least three goals. Anaheim's 10 goals in its last two outings are tied for the club's most in any consecutive two-game stretch this season. Brett Leason collected two assists, while five of Anaheim's six defensemen also found the scoresheet.

Dostal and John Gibson, who started the game in net but left with an upper-body injury, combined to stop 40-of-42 Nashville shots.

Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist scored for the Preds, who fell to 18-23-7 on the season and saw their five-game winning streak snapped. Juuse Saros made 30 saves in the loss.

Mintyukov struck for a 1-0 Anaheim lead just four minutes into the opening period on a rare bad goal by Nashville's former Vezina Trophy nominee between the pipes. With Anaheim's fourth line on the forecheck, Mintyukov pulled a pass off the left wing wall and stepped into the circle, firing a low shot that snuck through Saros and just barely over the goal line.

Leason's helper was his 50th career NHL point, and his 13th point in 40 appearances this season.

Jackson LaCombe nearly made it 2-0 Ducks later in the opening frame, beating Saros clean over the glove the high slot, but the shot rang the far post and carromed away from the net.

That fortunate bounce would soon prove crucial too, as Nashville pulled even moments after on a breakaway move to the backhand by Nyquist.

Nyquist now owns goals in back-to-back games and became the sixth Pred to reach 20 points on the season.

It appeared that goal would send the sides to intermission level at one, especially so after a few big stops from Gibson on quality scoring chances, but a Nashville turnover in the final seconds of the period would quickly haunt the visitors. Zegras started the play picking up a loose puck off an errant breakout attempt, spinning and suddenly firing to the right wing for Killorn. The veteran winger then held the puck just long enough to find a passing lane, eventually delivering it to the crashing McTavish on the backdoor for a tap-in through a Nashville stick check.

McTavish has back-to-back multi-goal games, and five goals in his last three appearances. The 21-year-old ranks third among team leaders in goals this season, and is now one shy of 50 for his young NHL career.

Zegras has collected two points in his first three games back from meniscus surgery.

Gibson left the game following the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Nashville climbed back level once again early in the second, tying the score at two as O'Reilly punched home a rebound after a point shot by defenseman Adam Wilsby that first bounced off winger Filip Forsberg before finding O'Reilly.

The two-point night extended Forsberg extended his scoring streak to a season-best 10 games. Forsberg and linemate Jonathan Marchessault are just the second pair of Preds teammates in franchise history to record 10-game point streaks in the same season.

O'Reilly's goal pulled the veteran two-way centerman within one point of 800 for his decorated NHL career.

Back all square for the third time in a matter of 25 minutes, the Ducks once again would reclaim control of the game and this time in convincing fashion - a three-goal barrage in a span of four minutes.

The first came on another hardworking shift by the fourth line, ultimately leading to Harkins finding free space in the low slot and swiping home a rebound off a low, hard point shot by Gudas.

Harkins posted his first multi-point performance as a Duck with a goal and an assist on the night.

Zegras then made it 4-2 on an opportunistic rebound chance, finding a free puck all alone in the slot and wiring a wrister past Saros to the blocker side.

Defenseman Drew Helleson nothed an assist on the goal, giving him points in back-to-back games for the first time as an NHLer.

McTavish capped the offensive explosion a few shifts later amidst an outstanding Anaheim power play, connecting on a one-timer from Terry before Saros could slide across his crease.

With his second goal of the game, McTavish passed Zegras for second-most by a Duck prior to their 22nd birthday, trailing only Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Kariya.

Terry owns four assists in his last three games and is now two points shy of reaching 40 for the fourth straight season.

Anaheim would the slam the door shut in the third period

The Ducks begin a two-game road trip Tuesday in Seattle.