Ducks continue free fall, shutout by Predators in sixth straight loss

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) bows down during an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday April 7, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif. ANAHEIM, Calif. – How is this happening for the Anaheim Ducks ?

After leading the Pacific Division by five points just six games ago, a six-game winless streak has dropped Anaheim’s playoff hopes perilously close to the cut line with just four games to go, and Tuesday’s effort was the most flummoxing of them yet. The Nashville Predators shut out the Ducks with a 43-save effort from Justus Annunen and goals in all three phases of the game in a 5-0 body blow at Honda Center. Nashville leapfrogged back into the second wild card spot in the West over idle Los Angeles, and Anaheim fell to third place in the Pacific Division, just four points ahead of the Kings, who hold a game in hand.

“There's always pressure,” Alex Killorn said of the mounting playoff race,”especially when you get to the end of the season, when points are so important, when you can kind of see where you're gonna finish off. But we have to kind of embrace that. “This team has been in a position where these games don't even matter.

So I think we have to be confident and show that we're pretty happy to be in this position and make the most of the last four games. ” The Ducks (41-32-5, 87 points) have just one point in the last six games (0-6-1) and have been outscored 29-14 in that stretch to slip one point behind Edmonton (39-29-10, 88 points) and Vegas (36-26-16, 88 points), who are tied for the Pacific Division lead. “We lost a couple at the beginning of (the skid) that were disappointing losses,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said.