Shane Wright scores first Predators goal in win over Ducks

Wright had been in Nashville for 10 days, and the Ducks were the right team to play for a guy still looking for his first goal in the new sweater.

He showed up on the scoresheet early with the secondary assist on Jayden Struble's goal. That was his first point as a Predator, in his fifth game since Seattle sent him over for Matthew Wood on November 1. With the Kraken this season he had 4 points in 14 games. Against Anaheim, though, he has always looked like the No. 4 overall pick he was in 2022.

Andrew Knoll

@AndrewKnollNHL

Something about playing the Ducks fires up Shane Wright. He has 10 points in 10 career games against them. His next highest total is just 6, in 9 games against San Jose and nine games against Calgary.

Struble finished the night with a goal and an assist, the first multi-point game of his career. Nils Hoglander also scored, and that set up the moment of the night. Josi fired a shot from deep, Hoglander tipped it, Laurent Brossoit stopped the deflection and Wright buried the rebound. It went to a quick review and stood. 3-1 Preds, and Wright had his first goal in Nashville.

It was also a big moment for the captain. Josi got the secondary assist on that goal, which made him the first Predator ever to reach 800 points. He's also the first Swiss player to do it. The man has spent his whole career in Nashville, so getting the franchise's first 800-point night on a goal by the new kid is a nice way to do it.

Brooks Bratten

@brooksbratten

#Preds Captain Roman Josi has his 800th career point - a secondary helper on Shane Wright's goal.

According to NHL PR, Josi is now the 5th defenseman born outside North America to reach 800, behind Nicklas Lidstrom, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman and Sergei Gonchar. He's at 205 goals and 596 assists, and in 19 games he became the fastest Predator to hit 20 assists in a season. Anaheim didn't go quietly. Mikael Granlund got them close in the 3rd, and Cutter Gauthier stayed red hot by stretching his goal streak to 7 straight games. Then Steven Stamkos scored to make it 4-2 and put it away.

Brooks Bratten

@brooksbratten

W. Six straight. #Preds sweep the southern California back-to-back and beat the Ducks by a 4-2 final to extend their win streak to six games. Nashville is now 10-4-5, 25 points, 2nd in the Central. Predators at Vegas on Friday. Yeehaw!

Justus Annunen made 27 saves and outplayed Brossoit, who had 18 the other way. The win completed a sweep of the Southern California back-to-back and snapped Anaheim's own 5-game winning streak. Nashville is 10-4-5 with 25 points, 2nd in the Central, and it's the club's first 6-game win streak since March 2024. After the game a scoring change gave Wright another assist, so he finished with a goal and 2 helpers.

Andrew Knoll

@AndrewKnollNHL

Shane Wright gets another assist thanks to a scoring change and now has a dozen points in 10 career games vs #FlyTogether. The Preds still have not lost with him in the lineup.

That's 12 points in 10 career games against the Ducks, and Nashville still hasn't lost with Wright in the lineup. That doesn't sound like a rebuild. Andrew Brunette's team is playing like a contender with a mix of vets, cornerstones and guys nobody expected much from. The streak goes to Vegas on Friday, and we'll see whether Wright can do that against someone other than Anaheim.