Breaking down Ekholm's excellent effort before Neal's OT winner

James Neal was the hero for the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, but Mattias Ekholm deserves credit for a tremendous sequence that led to the winner in overtime.

Related: Neal hammers Game 1 OT winner past Gibson

Ekholm played like a man possessed before Neal's goal, embarrassing Corey Perry, driving to the net, recovering the puck, and setting up the decisive marker.

Let's take a closer look at exactly how he did it.

We begin with Ekholm (No. 14 in white) controlling the puck along the boards after taking a pass from Neal.

Ekholm sees Perry closing in on him.

Bye, Felicia.

After burning Perry, Ekholm sets his sights on goal, despite not exactly having a clear path.

He cuts toward the goal as a pair of Ducks (Nate Thompson and Cam Fowler) stand ready to meet him, with Perry trailing Ekholm in hot pursuit.

Ekholm somehow makes it to the front of the net untouched, as the trio of Ducks look on.

He gets a shot off, but it's denied by goaltender John Gibson and the slew of bodies in front of him.

A mad scramble ensues and the puck trickles into the corner, but Ekholm stays with it and regains possession.

Ekholm feeds P.K. Subban, who appears ready to tee up a howitzer.

But it's a fake, and Subban instead dishes off to Neal.

Neal makes no mistake, firing a shot in off Perry's melon to end it.

Ekholm assisted on two of Nashville's goals Friday night, while only Fowler and teammate Roman Josi logged more ice time than Ekholm's 31:05.

Subban's pass and Neal's shot got plenty of attention, and deservedly so, but they wouldn't have been possible without Ekholm's series of impressive plays in the moments leading up to the winner.

(Images courtesy: NHL.com)

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