Canucks score in final 2 minutes, beat Predators 1-0
With the victory, Vancouver wins the best-of-seven series against Nashville 4-2.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Vancouver’s Pius Suter scored the only goal of the game with less than 2 minutes left to give the Canucks a 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Friday night and a 4-2 win in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Predators have already staved off elimination once this week, topping the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday 2-1 in come-from-behind fashion. Andrew Brunette, who on Friday was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, given to the most impactful coach in the league, is hoping to lead his team to their first home playoff win since 2021. Nashville has lost five straight home playoff games in a row.
The Predators put a flurry of shots on goal the final 30 seconds but were not able to find the net.
Vancouver’s Elias Lindholm was called for cross-checking with 33.9 seconds left, giving the Predators a 6-on-4 opportunity. The Predators called their time out.
The Predators had another shot in front of the goal, but Vancouver was able to clear it with another icing call with 48 seconds left.
The Predators pulled goalie Juuse Saros with just over 1 minute left in the third period.
With 1 minute left, fans threw a catfish onto the ice during the break.
Vancouver breaks the ice with a goal with 1:39 left in the third period. Pius Suter netted his second goal in the series.
Nashville survives their first close call of the game six minutes into the action. Vancouver slips the puck behind Juuse Saros, but it slides parallel to the mouth of the goal and gets knocked away.
Hockey gods appreciation post @PredsNHL l #Preds pic.twitter.com/aFaWnE9bgo
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) May 3, 2024
The Preds retaliate about a minute later. Gustav Nyquist skates open on a breakaway opportunity, but Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs pokes his chance away, only to save the slapshot attempt that rockets towards his net just seconds later.
The Predators have controlled the middle minutes of the first period, but have nothing to show for it. Their scoring chances have created kindling inside Bridgestone Arena. The crowd is simply waiting for the goal that sparks it.
The @PredsNHL have been dominating the middle portion of this period. The crowd is ready to burst pic.twitter.com/sAyvME92Sm
— Garrett Short (@GarrettShortTV) May 3, 2024
At the end of the first period Nashville and Vancouver are tied 0-0. The Predators have six shots on goal compared to five for the Canucks. Nashville’s willingness to throw their body into shooting lanes has led to 11 blocked shots in the first 20 minutes.
Also worth noting -- it was a clean first period. In what the players have called a chippy series, not a single penalty was given.
The Predators start the second with a scoring chance about three minutes into the period. They catch Vancouver in the middle of a line change but come up empty.
While the offense continues to come up just shy of starting the scoring, Saros continues to show what agility can do in between the pipes. A pair of massive saves early in this period have drawn gasps from the crowd, with the 29-year-old netminder sliding around to keep the contest scoreless.
🧃 is dialed in 🔽🔽🔽@PredsNHL l #Preds pic.twitter.com/elrntxwmBg
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) May 4, 2024
After a clean first period, the first penalty was finally whistled on Vancouver’s Brock Boeser for high-sticking. It’ll be four minutes in the sin bin for the forward who tallied a hat trick in Nashville in Game 4.
The Nashville power play has looked dim up to this point in the series. They have converted on just two of their 19 chances, but they did find the back of the net with a man advantage in Game 5. Roman Josi’s goal tied the game up in the third before Alexandre Carrier’s eventual game-winner.
Four minutes on the power play and things remain scoreless. At practice Thursday, Andrew Brunette said that his squad’s power play struggles lead to his team to “start squeezing it a little bit.” Their offense may not be able to capitalize, but the crowd is still very much in this game.
Once again, penalties awarded. This time two minutes for roughing for Nashville’s Mark Jankowski and Vancouver’s Nikita Zadarov who start a shoving match after the whistle in front of the Canucks net. Teams are now on a four-on-four.
Back to full strength, Nashville has ramped up the physicality. Veteran Ryan McDonagh has been pushing around a few Canucks players like he’s the biggest kid on the playground.
The scoring will have to wait. Just like Game 5, Vancouver and Nashville are even at zero with 20 minutes to play.
Five minutes into the third and Saros’ glove might as well have steam coming off of it. He continues to make save after save in the big moments. If his team can take a little of the pressure off with a goal, he and this Bridgestone crowd would feel a whole lot better about the final stretch of Game 6.
A major wrinkle in this series has been Vancouver’s goalie situation. While Saros has anchored down the net for the Preds in every game this series, there has been a revolving door in the crease for Vancouver. They have lost their top two goalies, including a Vezina Trophy finalist in Thatcher Demko, and yet they still lead this series 3-2. 23-year-old Arturs Silovs has taken over the reins for the Canucks and shined, despite having just a few NHL games under his belt before his teammates went down.
Make that 25 saves for Saros with 10 minutes to play. That is the most he’s had in a game this series.
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) May 4, 2024
There is Saros’ biggest save of the game with just over nine minutes to play. On the tail of a McDonagh turnover in his own zone, Saros makes a ridiculous save on a two-on-one look pedestrian.
🤯 JUICE 🤯
— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) May 4, 2024
🤯 JUICE 🤯
🤯 JUICE 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ZA4h6Wif6X
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