from Mark Whicker of the OC Register,

Another Stanley Cup playoff train left the station at 6 p.m. Friday. The Ducks didn’t catch up to it until about 7:45.

That does not make the eventual 3-2 overtime loss to Nashville palatable or even acceptable, in Game 1 of the Western Finals.

But a tie game after 60 minutes looked like a fantasy after the Predators skated rings around the home team in the early going.

James Neal pulled it out for the Predators, now 9-2 in the playoffs, with a shot from the right wing in OT. It was set up by P.K. Subban’s shot fake and quick pass, and Neal, an elite sniper, let go of it before goalie John Gibson could get into position, with Corey Perry off-balance in front of him, and with both Ducks lacking sticks.

All three Nashville goals hit something or someone on the way to the net, and both Anaheim’s goals were clean shots — a howler by Jakob Silfverberg on the Ducks’ first shot of the game, and a goal to Rinne’s short side by Hampus Lindholm, after Nate Thompson won a faceoff.

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Watch the game winning goal and highlights below..