ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators clung to a small lead for two full periods, scrambling and dodging and stopping everything the Anaheim Ducks could throw at them.
They hung on until the final horn, emerging triumphant from their first Game 7 and opening a new chapter in Smashville hockey.
The Ducks were left with the same strange story to tell for another long summer.
Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad scored in the first period and the Predators hung on to win the franchise's first Game 7, advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Ducks on Wednesday night.