ANAHEIM, Calif. — To the surprise of (almost) no one, the usual suspects did the damage against the Ducks on Friday afternoon.
Once again, it was Nashville forwards Filip Forsberg and Colton Sissons and Predators goalie Juuse Saros continuing to haunt the Ducks.
Forsberg had a three-point afternoon (one goal, two assists), while Sissons had a goal and an assist and Sarros made 26 saves in leading the Predators to a 6-1 victory against the Ducks at Honda Center. Forsberg has 23 points in 21 career games against the Ducks.
Sissons has five goals and 11 points in 17 regular-season games against the Ducks and Saros is 5-1-1 in seven career games against them.
One of those results was a 2-1 overtime victory in Nashville on Nov. 29, in which the Predators capitalized on a breakdown in communication between Ducks defenseman Colton White and Trevor Zegras.
This one looked like it was going to be another tight contest and it shaped up that way … until midway through the second period. It was 1-0, Predators, after one period and Nashville broke it open with two goals in the second period and three more in the third, including a power-play goal by defenseman Roman Josi.
The lone Ducks goal came from their fourth line — Sam Carrick scored his second of the season at 2:20 of the second to tie the score at 1-1.
Comings and goings
— The Ducks signed goaltender Gage Alexander to a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday and assigned him to AHL San Diego. Alexander, 20, was a fifth-round selection (No. 148 overall) by the Ducks in the 2021 draft. This season, he was 8-5-1 with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League with a 3.47 goals-against average and .898 save percentage.
— Devante Smith-Pelly, who was drafted by the Ducks in 2010 and played the first 129 games of his NHL career with Anaheim and won a Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018, has retired from professional hockey. He made the announcement on Friday, via his Instagram account, writing: “I am so proud to say that a kid from Scarborough, Ontario leaves a Stanley Cup champion. I will forever be grateful for my experiences.”
