Bear with us a moment. The manner in which the Vancouver Canucks pulled of their miraculous Game 4 win over the Nashville Predators was similar to the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs last season. Throughout most of the 2023-24 NFL campaign it was argued that the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs were the worst versions of themselves – very good, but the worst version. Who won the Super Bowl? The Chiefs. The moral of the story is that you don’t always have to be at your best to be the best. Here are the takeaways from Sunday evening’s Game 4.
Canucks’ Inexplicable Comeback
No one can argue that the Canucks played a good game. The Predators responded with vigour to an early 1-0 deficit by making life tough on third-string goalie Arturs Silovs. Unlike Game 3, when Nashville was often stymied by Vancouver’s defence, in Game 4, the hosts looked more authoritative on the attack. After all, they outshot their opponents 30-20.
Related: Hellebyuck, Demko, Bobrovsky Name Vezina Trophy Finalists
When Nashville claimed a 3-1 advantage 12 seconds into the third period, many thought that was game, set, and match. That Filip Forsberg’s marker was netted with his skate (not a kicking motion) felt like poetic justice. The Canucks simply hadn’t done enough to earn the win. They continued to do precious little with the puck for the next 17 minutes or so. They were laboured, timid and it looked like the club was content to earn a split on the road.
Then Silvos was called to the bench to send out the extra attacker.
In one of the great twists of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, a team that had largely done nothing scored twice in the final 2:49 of regulation to even the score at 3-3 and force overtime. Desperate times call for desperate measures. For those brilliant 2 minutes and 49 seconds, the Canucks were phenomenally aggressive, doing great things to keep the puck in the Predators’ zone, with Brock Boeser netting two to complete his hat trick (he scored the game’s opener).
A coach can deliver the most rousing speech in the intermission before overtime after something like that, but even great teams can be shaken. Lo and behold, Nashville got caught on the forecheck a minute into OT, and Connor Garland fed Elias Lindholm for the winner.
The Canucks did not play well, but they made the right plays at the right time.
Arturs Silovs: Next Man Up!
We’ve talked about fighting the odds, miracle goals, and even the NFL, but what about the hockey gods? The Canucks were the Pacific Division champions this season. As such, they were justifiably favoured when this first-round series commenced. In what feels like forces beyond our comprehension meddling with the playoffs to even the playing field, Vancouver has been forced to use their third-string keeper.
Thatcher Demko – a Vezina Trophy candidate – came back from injury late in the regular reason to a hero’s welcome. He helped win Game 1, only to reinjure himself. That’s okay, backup Casey DeSmith has a decent reputation. Game 2 didn’t go according to plan, but he made up for it with a nice Game 3. That wasn’t good enough for the gods. They thirsted for more sacrifice. It was announced Sunday morning that DeSmith would not participate in the fourth game because of an injury. Enter Silovs.
The 23-year-old Latvian isn’t a total unknown. He had played nine NHL games through two seasons, after all. Oh heck, this was a huge moment where multiple goalie injuries could have derailed the Canucks’ plans to take a 3-1 series lead. Yet, it didn’t. Silovs’ goals against average of 3.00 and save percentage of .900 won’t convince voters they made a mistake by nominating Demko for the Vezina. All a club can ask for in situations like the one Vancouver faced in Game 4 is for the goalie to make enough saves to give the team a chance. Anything beyond that is gravy. To that effect, Silvos got the job done.
Quinn Hughes: Oh Captain, My Captain
A few words on Canucks talisman Quinn Hughes. Everyone knows that Hughes had a rough game. Not necessarily rough insofar as he played poorly – we’ll get to our punch line in a moment – but rather in the sense that he was pancaked by the Predators multiple times. The telecast would cut to him, and he looked a little worse for wear.
But great players, like great teams, will come up big when they’re most needed, irrespective of how bad a day it’s been up until that point. His deke on Gustav Nyquist in the dying seconds when the Canucks pressed for the game-tying goal was a thing of beauty. Beyond looking good, it was imperative. If Nashville had dumped the puck, the match would likely have ended with a 3-2 Predators win.
The series shifts back to Vancouver on Tuesday night. There are lessons to be learned from the team’s weekend in Tennessee. Number one, even if this series concludes in five games, it will have been a heck of a battle. Two, given the nature of Games 3 and 4 on the road, the Canucks probably don’t want to fly back south for a sixth contest. They often look like they have their work cut out for them, but they lead 3-1. Ultimately, that’s what matters. Time to cash the cheque.
