3 takeaways from Predators' sixth-straight win over Ducks

One of my first takeaways from the Nashville Predators' second game out West was that the Anaheim Ducks need to rebrand to wear their Hometown Remix jerseys full-time. Then the game started, and Nashville's league-leading hot streak continued as the team persevered through the second night of a back-to-back to defeat the league's other hottest team.

Cutter Gauthier opened the scoring, and while some thought it might be a long night for the Predators, Jayden Struble evened it, Nils Hoglander continued his hot streak, and Shane Wright scored his first as a Predator on the eventual game-winner. It was another total team effort, capped off by a Steven Stamkos insurance marker late.

While it was a team effort, a couple of things stood out in the victory. Here are three takeaways from the Predators' sixth straight win.

Justus Annunen is more than a worthy backup

It's becoming clear why Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this season that teams might start kicking the tires on Nashville's goaltending tandem. Justus Annunen's season started on a bad note against the Boston Bruins, but he has since won four straight games and stopped 27 of 29 shots again on Wednesday night.

Andrew Brunette's biggest issue now will be getting Annunen more starts, given how much of a workhorse Juuse Saros is, but if they can settle into a good rhythm and keep giving the Predators starts like this, it'll be hard to steal a win off Nashville this season.

Shane Wright's breakout game

Wright was held scoreless in his first four games with the Predators, but he showed up in a big way on Wednesday night. He assisted on Struble and Hoglander's goals, and then added his own for the eventual game-winner.

It was Wright's first multi-point game of the season, and his first three-point game since the 2023-24 season, when he ironically did it in Anaheim against the Ducks. That season, he played just eight games and hasn't done it again since joining the NHL full-time.

Nils Hoglander has been a star for Predators

Hoglander has flipped a switch on this six-game winning streak, and it could coincide with having a two-way center like Wright. The second line of Hoglander, Wright, and Filip Forsberg has been working since Brunette put them together, and they've been the reason the team has won the first two games on the West Coast road trip.

While Wright was brought in as a middle-six center, with Hoglander playing like he is and Forsberg on the line, some argue they are the team's first. They played 10:05 together at five-on-five, more than the Ryan O'Reilly line, and were the only team with an xGF% above 50, at 66.8%.

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