Anders Lindback keeps Anaheim Ducks at bay as Nashville Predators win 3-1 -NHL Update
Giving only a single goal in round-one of the contest, young Nashville goalie,
Anders Lindback blocked 30 shots in the match, lifting Predators to an easy 3-1 win past Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, March 18, 2012, at the sold-out Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Lindback is only 23 and is slowly showing some potential, which could have him in the net more often as the season comes to a close and Nashville wanting to prepare their goaltenders for playoff competition.
"It's always nice to get the win," Lindback said. "I want to prove to the guys and the coaches that I can play, and this was great for my confidence. I want to earn a chance to play more games.”
The first two periods did not go the way Nashville had hoped but as Lindback kept their the Ducks at bay, Predators eventually gained the momentum needed to take down Anaheim in round-three of regulation.
"We didn't feel like we played very well the first two periods and we knew with a good third we'd get ourselves back in and give ourselves a chance," Mike Fisher said. "Lindback was playing real well for us. It was a much better third. It showed some of
our character that we didn't give up and we found a way to win."
Devante Smith-Pelly got the only goal for Anaheim and his fifth of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season as captain, Ryan Getzlaf, fed him the puck with Bobby Ryan on the bench for high-sticking, leaving the home team shorthanded.
Predators smelled blood in the final 20 minutes and made a major comeback with three straight from Patric Hornqvist, Mike Fisher and David Legwand on the power play, crippling any hopes by Anaheim of winning.
Nashville is strong at the fourth number position in the Western Conference with 92 points and will be looking forward to downing Edmonton Oilers at home on Tuesday.
Anaheim Ducks can say bye to their playoff hopes as they are more than 10 points below the last playoff spot and have the next against San Jose Sharks on the road on Monday.
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