Victory Gives Ducks Satisfaction

The announcement rang out for the Mighty Duck players to go to the team bus, but Andy McDonald sat back with a contented smile as he took a few extra moments to savor Sunday night’s 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators.

This wasn’t the sort of hollow overtime win they felt they had stolen a night earlier against an outmanned St. Louis team. No, this come-from-behind victory at a sold-out Gaylord Entertainment Center was the kind the Ducks can only hope is a breakthrough.

“They had a two-goal lead in the first period, and when you rally back like that ... that’s really the type of game we need to play to be successful,” McDonald said. “I know at times it may seem like we’re taking a step backward. But there’s signs of improvement. The guys feel it’s there.”

The Ducks (18-15-6) won consecutive road games for the first time and headed home with proof that they don’t have to be home to beat a top team.

Nashville (24-10-3), which lost its third in a row, was 16-3 at home, tied with Ottawa as the NHL’s best.

“To be able to come into a place like this, that’s a big win for us,” said forward Todd Marchant, who had two assists.

“I think we’ve played better than our record shows on the road. We just haven’t gotten the results.”

The Ducks improved their road mark to 5-9-3 by erasing a 2-0 deficit as they pushed three first-period goals past Tomas Vokoun, the Predators’ normally standout goaltender.

Joffrey Lupul, who had only one goal in the last nine games, scored the first two on opportunistic plays. After Yanic Perreault’s slap shot gave Nashville a two-goal lead, Lupul answered 27 seconds later when he was in the right spot for a tuck-in rebound off a blast from Chris Kunitz.

“The first one was at a big time,” Lupul said. “They had all the momentum, and then we came right back with a shift and got a goal there. Just to bounce back was big.”

Lupul tied the score with a quick wrist shot after getting a feed from Marchant, who won a faceoff without a challenge as Scott Johnson and the rest of the Predators were not ready for the drop.

“When the linesman blows the whistle, you only have so much time,” Marchant said.

“I’m the visiting team and I put my stick down. Next thing you know, he’s looking around for their center man and they were trying to get guys huddled up.

“He just dropped it and I chipped it over to Lupes and he made a great play.”

Scott Niedermayer broke the tie with a power-play goal with just 40 seconds left in the first, and Jonathan Hedstrom added an insurance goal in the second that the Ducks made stand up with focused play.

They took just five minor penalties and killed all four Nashville power plays.

“We didn’t stop working,” Duck Coach Randy Carlyle said. “It was like we had an attitude tonight that we wouldn’t be denied.”

Ilya Bryzgalov got his first start in goal in nearly a month and pushed aside 21 shots. None were bigger than his stop of Scott Hartnell on a breakaway in the second period.

“If they score the goal, it’s 3-3 and you never know what’s going to happen,” Bryzgalov said.

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Forward Rob Niedermayer hurt himself while attempting a hard check along the boards and left the game during his first shift in the third period.... Left wing Travis Moen was scratched because of flu.... Defenseman Jason Marshall was recalled from minor league Portland, Maine, after a two-game conditioning assignment.