Thursday night’s game between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks was a chance for both teams to get back in the win column after recent lacklustre performances. Nashville was coming off a 5-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks and hadn’t won a game in its last four contests, and the Canucks were coming off a Wednesday night loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 5-1. There was a lot on the line for both teams.
Game Recap
In the game’s first period, both teams were looking to land the first punch and get on the scoreboard first. Nashville had the better offensive chances in the period as they outshot Vancouver by a total of 12-5. But the Predators were undisciplined in the opening frame. The team took four minor penalties in the first period and had to play much of the opening 20 minutes on the penalty kill. Luckily for Nashville, they were able to kill off all the penalties. Neither team was able to score in the first, and we went to the second period at a 0-0 deadlock.
The game finally saw its first goal in the second period, but in a somewhat unexpected way. Nashville took another penalty with Erik Haula being sent off for tripping, and Vancouver went to the power play. The Canucks neared the end of their power play when they turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Ryan O’Reilly came in on a 2-on-1 break. The Predators veteran skated over the blue line and shot the puck past Thatcher Demko for a 1-0 Nashville lead.
Then shortly after the Predators took the lead, the Canucks answered back. Linus Karlsson sent a pass up to Max Sasson, and he muscled his way past a Nashville defender and slid the puck through Jusse Saros’ legs to tie the game 1-1. Sasson’s goal was the final marker of the period as the second frame ended tied at one.
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The third period began with both teams looking to strike first and take the lead. Five minutes into the final period, Nashville scored to pull ahead of Vancouver. The Predators fired the puck on net from the blue line, and Cole Smith tipped it past Demko. The puck trickled on the goal line and crossed it by a hair, giving the Predators a 2-1 lead. After scoring that goal, Nashville tried to hold on and snap their four-game winning streak. The Predators drained the clock and bled time down to the final two minutes. Vancouver pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but was still unable to score, and Nashville ended this game on top by a score of 2-1.
After this game, Nashville improves to 3-3-1 and Vancouver falls to 4-4-0. The Predators will have a chance to start a winning streak in their next game against the Los Angeles Kings, and the Canucks will be looking to end their losing streak on Saturday when they take on the Montreal Canadiens.
