The Preds entered a must-win game tonight and won it in dramatic comeback fashion.
The teams traded chances early, with a good Nashville shift followed by a better Vancouver one, and the pattern repeating as the period went on. JT Miller, Brock Boeser, and Pius Suter regularly wreaked havoc in the Preds’ zone, while the Canucks were able to keep the Preds’ top line from generating the same kind of pressure.
Late in the period, Miller hooked Alex Carrier, giving the Preds the first power play of the game. Again the Canucks’ penalty kill was prepared, easily clearing the zone and preventing the Preds from getting set up again. Tyler Myers got the puck in shorthanded and put a shot on Saros, but Saros had the save. A few more bounces out of the offensive zone finished the penalty off, and Miller sprung back in to spearhead a fresh attack.
The Preds made it to intermission without conceding, and came out strong to start the second, but Vancouver came roaring back. Juuse Saros was the recipient of an incredibly lucky bounce on a broken play that had him completely out of his net, then made an even better save to rob Elias Lindholm. Nashville tried to counter, but only ended up drawing a penalty when Nikita Zadorov cross-checked Filip Forsberg in the kidneys.
Unfortunately, this resulted in a Preds power play, and another impeccable Canucks penalty kill. While the Preds looked a little better after their power play elapsed, the Canucks then made it back to the Nashville zone and piled on the offense until Anthony Beauvillier hooked Nils Höglander. The Preds brought a great PK, with Ryan O’Reilly getting the puck in deep early and Kiefer Sherwood hitting a post late, but although they kept the Canucks from scoring they weren’t able to get themselves on the board.
The Preds again responded well, until Ryan McDonagh cross-checked Elias Pettersson. Another tenacious kill from Nashville was followed by an outburst of hostilities around Arturs Silovs’s net. Moments later, the Preds got another power play as Forsberg drew a high-sticking penalty from Ian Cole. Tyson Barrie took a stick to the face early in the power play, but the refs missed it and the Preds were not presented with a two-man advantage to squander.
Saros got more luck early in the third, as he made several saves through a scramble and then an unattended Boeser hit the post instead of the net from inches away, but Zadorov went post and in to put the Canucks up 1-0 at 3:11. Nashville counterattacked, and McDonagh almost got it back moments later, but no luck.
Dakota Joshua then boarded Luke Evangelista, sending the Preds back to the power play. This time, the Preds drew blood, as Roman Josi made a fantastic solo effort and Silovs finished getting the puck across the line himself. Vancouver immediately counterattacked, and Saros made a massive save on Boeser to keep the score tied.
The Canucks continued to press, though McDonagh got a phenomenal opportunity on a brief counterattack and wasn’t able to convert on it. Carrier, however, did not miss his own shot not too long after, giving the Preds a 2-1 lead through traffic at 12:46.
The teams scuffled back and forth as the period continued. With just under two minutes to go, Silovs headed for the bench and a hand pass call promptly broke up the flow of play. Vancouver used its timeout, but in spite of that the Preds were able to hang on for the entire nervewracking time to get the win.
Game 6 will be on Friday in Nashville.