ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Overtime has not been kind to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim lately.
Scott Hartnell scored 91 seconds into overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to a 4-3 victory over the Mighty Ducks.
Entering the game, Anaheim had gone to the extra period in five of its previous seven contests, including its last two. It went 1-3-1 in those games and hoped to close out the Predators in regulation in this one.
But Greg Johnson scored with 3:58 remaining in the third period to knot the game at 3-3, and Hartnell took a feed in front from Rem Murray and drifted to the left side before putting the puck past a diving Jean-Sebastien Giguere to give Nashville its fourth win in five games.
"(Rookie defenseman Dan) Hamhuis kept it in, he threw it behind (the net) to Rem and (Murray) made a great pass through a couple of guys," Hartnell said. "I was able to outwait Giguere and put it in the net."
"It was a disappointing point, but still a point," Giguere said. "We will get our overtime problem resolved. It's hard to believe that we're in first place (in the Pacific Division) again, the second time after an overtime defeat."
Defenseman Kimmo Timonen and Martin Erat also scored for the Predators, who won for just the second time in 11 visits to Anaheim.
"For us, it was a great momentum builder, a great confidence builder for a team like us," Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun said. "In this league, it's never over until it's over, and we showed that tonight."
Jason Krog, Samuel Pahlsson and Steve Rucchin tallied for the Ducks, who have earned a point in eight consecutive games.
With Timonen serving a hooking penalty, defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh fired a shot from the left point that hit Stanislav Chistov on the way to the net. Vokoun made the save, but Krog was at the left side of the net to shove in the rebound at 13:55 and give Anaheim the lead.
Timonen atoned for his earlier mistake at 4:31 of the second, wristing a shot from the top of the slot into the top left corner of the net while on the power play. But 50 seconds later, Pahlsson one-timed Petr Sykora's pass by Vokoun for his first goal of the season.
Erat netted a power-play goal at 7:40 to draw Nashville even before Rucchin put in a rebound from the doorstep with 2:40 left in the period for his sixth goal in seven games.
"I feel we played our best hockey of the year in the first and second periods," Anaheim coach Mike Babcock said.
Johnson forced overtime at 16:02 of the third, flipping a shot from the left side of the net past Giguere for his fifth goal.
"It was a scrambled play in front," Johnson said. "I just tapped it in."
"Poor play from the third period carries over to overtime," Rucchin said. "Our play is too passive. ... One point for overtime is not a bad system for the Ducks. It was not a good point. Good teams get it done."
