Dostal makes 28 saves, Ducks edge Predators

ANAHEIM -- Lukas Dostal made 28 saves for the Anaheim Ducks in a 2-1 win against the Nashville Predators at Honda Center on Friday.

It was the 20th win of the season for the 24-year-old Dostal.

"He's been great," said Ducks forward Alex Killorn. "It's not often you see young goalies that are as consistent as he's been. ... He's stepped up and he's played great for us, and he keeps us in every single game, so it's been really special to watch."

Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks (29-30-7), who had lost four of five.

"We never quit. We're always ready to play," Dostal said. "I think we have a tight group, and we try to show it every night."

Jakub Vrana scored, and Juuse Saros made 13 saves for the Predators (25-33-7), who were trying to win five in a row to match their season high.

“I really liked our effort. I thought we did enough good things to win the game," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "Kind of bad luck on the first [goal]. The second one was probably poorly played and, unfortunately, it's kind of been a little bit of the story of a lot of nights this year. ... Kind of peaked its ugly head again today.”

Killorn gave the Ducks the 2-1 lead at 11:20 of the third period. The Ducks entered the zone on a 3-on-2 rush and Trevor Zegras slid a backhand centering pass to Killorn, who swept the puck into the net from the slot for his second goal in two games.

Just prior to Killorn's goal, Nashville couldn't capitalize on a two-man advantage for 1:10.

"It was just one of those moments in the game where it's the defining moment," Killorn said of the 5-on-3. "We can build a lot of momentum off it, especially when you look at Nashville. They have like three guys that are legitimate 50-goal scorers."

Terry scored to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 15:52 of the second period after Nashville defenseman Justin Barron tried to pass the puck out of his zone, but his stick broke.

The puck went to defense partner Jordan Oesterle, who banked the puck off his wall, but it went to Ducks forward Frank Vatrano still in the Nashville zone. He slid a horizontal pass to Terry, who scored with a wrist shot into the top right corner from the left circle.

"Initially, I knew that the guy that was over on me didn't have a stick, and I knew [Ryan Strome] was kind of on the backside, and once I saw [Saros] lay down, I knew to shoot it right away," Terry said. "That one felt good."

Dostal carried a shutout into the third period for the 10th time this season, but Nashville scored on its first power play to tie it 1-1 at 4:25.

Killorn was in the penalty box for interference when Vrana took a shot that Dostal attempted to glove, but the puck deflected through his pads and across the goal line.

"Some of these games coming down the stretch, you're not always getting as many shots as you want, or whatever," Killorn said. "It's kind of a greasy game, for lack of a better word. But we found a way to win and I'm really proud of the guys, especially when we killed that 3 on 5 and we got momentum off that, for sure."

The Predators will have a quick turnaround when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

“I’d like to see the same effort,” Brunette said. “I thought we managed the game really well. It's kind of disheartening to [see the] mistake we made at the end.”

NOTES: Nashville forward Michael Bunting came off injured reserve (appendix surgery) and made his team debut following his trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. He had one shot on goal in 15:04. ... Anaheim forward Leo Carlsson assisted on Killorn's goal to give him 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 15 games. Carlsson is the third Ducks player aged 20 or younger to reach 60 career points, joining Mason McTavish (76) and Cam Fowler (69). ... Zegras has a four-game point streak (four assists). ... The Ducks were without forwards Sam Colangelo and Ross Johnston (upper-body injuries). ... Nikita Nesterenko was recalled from San Diego of the American Hockey League and had five hits in 13:16.