Anaheim won because a 66.7% Nashville power play built a 4-3 lead that Husso's 1.90 goals above average threatened to protect, but a third-period penalty handed Terry the decisive PP goal at 17:06.
⚡TURNING POINT
Terry's power-play goal at 17:06 of the third converted a tied game into a 5-4 Anaheim lead with under three minutes remaining — too little time and too large a deficit for Nashville to manufacture a response. Nashville's decision to take that penalty in the final minutes surrendered the last edge they held: the ability to force overtime.
🏆WHY ANA WON (ranked by impact — most decisive first)
1
Third-Period Execution: 2 goals, 0 conceded in P3 — after trailing 4-3, Anaheim outscored Nashville 2-0 in the final period, erasing the deficit entirely without the cushion of possession stats to explain it.
2
Faceoff Parity: 50.8% faceoff rate — Anaheim denied Nashville the zone-entry control that a dominant faceoff team uses to protect late leads, keeping puck retrieval even throughout.
3
Special Teams Clutch: PP 1/5 (20%) but the lone conversion came at 17:06 in a tied game — timing amplified the value of that single successful opportunity beyond the raw percentage.
📉WHY NSH LOST (ranked by impact — biggest failure first)
1
Goaltending Margin: Saros conceded 1.00 goal above league average on 40 shots — in a one-goal game, that single goal above average was the direct margin of defeat.
2
Power Play Squander: NSH converted 2/3 (66.7%) to build a 4-3 third-period lead, then surrendered a late penalty that handed Anaheim the PP goal that decided the game — the discipline collapse erased the structural advantage.
3
Third-Period Shutdown: 0 goals on 0 shots recorded in P3 — Nashville could not generate any offensive response once Anaheim equalized, allowing a winnable game to slip in the final frame.
Three Stars
S. Stamkos1st
NSH, C
Goal at P1 10:09 (EV)goal at P2 15:23 (PP)plus one assist recorded in the data
Stamkos provided Nashville's offensive backbone across two periods but could not prevent the third-period collapse.
F. Forsberg2nd
NSH, L
Two goals — P1 15:55 (PP) and P2 14:37 (EV) — both coming at moments when Nashville needed to respond to Anaheim pressure
Forsberg's contributions built the 4-3 lead that ultimately went unprotected.
L. Evangelista3rd
NSH, R
Two assists — on Forsberg's P2 goal and Stamkos's P2 PP goal — generating the offensive sequences that gave Nashville a late lead they could not hold.
