Despite holding a pair of early leads, the Preds were largely outplayed tonight and struggled to respond once the Canucks got established. Some great play by the Canucks’ defense and skilled play by their offense sealed the Preds’ fate. Here’s a look at how it went down.
Vancouver got out to a strong early start, but the Preds made a temporary recovery and got some offense of their own going. Spencer Stastney had one good chance early, and Luke Evangelista and Anthony Beauvillier almost connected for a goal, but Thatcher Demko made an even better save to keep Nashville off the board.
As play headed back to the Preds’ end of the ice, Colton Sissons took a cross-checking penalty at 4:28, giving us our first look at the Canucks’ dangerous power play. Some strong work from the Nashville skaters kept the Canucks to a single shot on goal, and Juuse Saros was able to make the save. With Sissons released, the teams returned to feeling each other out.
Play was slow for much of the rest of the first, with the teams trading possessions and looks but not able to get many shots through on goal. Late in the period the Canucks got a few good chances on Saros, with some rush chances and zone time, but Jason Zucker drew first blood, thanks to a great screen from Colton Sissons and Mark Jankowski, at 16:15.
While the Preds were able to eke out a little momentum from that, the Canucks counterattacked before too long, finishing the period with a push. They carried that into the second, where Elias Lindholm scored quickly in transition, with a shot that bounced off of Saros’s arm, off the crossbar, and into the net at 0:47.
Vancouver continued to press after that, with a great extended sequence the Preds weren’t able to find a counter for. What looked like a missed tripping call against JT Miller could have helped the Preds if it had been made, but instead Tommy Novak and Ryan McDonagh managed to get a much-needed clear for long enough for the Preds to change. The Canucks headed back in, though.
A play behind the Preds’ goal line got the crowd irate over another potential missed call, and the Preds finally made it back into the offensive zone. Roman Josi rang iron about five minutes into the period, but while the Nashville attack continued for a bit they weren’t able to convert, and the Canucks went back on the attack.
Saros was once again called on to make some big saves, especially when Gustav Nyquist had a skate issue, as the Canucks peppered him with chances. It was good to see the Preds showing some resilience after a really bad icing call and complete their breakout a second time anyway, and they were rewarded when Teddy Blueger shoved Jeremy Lauzon into Demko and–after some hostilities between the teams–got sent to the box for it.
While the Canucks got off to a strong start to their penalty kill, getting the Preds off the puck and deep into their own zone, Nashville came back strong and completed some great passing to let Ryan O’Reilly put them up 2-1 at 10:46.
Not long after, the Preds got another power play, as Tommy Novak went sprawling to the ice after getting grabbed by Carson Soucy. The power play this time was much more deliberate for both teams, with a lot of cautious passing by the Preds and a more conservative defense by the Canucks; this time, it worked out better for Vancouver, who killed off the penalty smoothly.
The Preds then got another power play at 15:56, as Filip Hronek held Michael McCarron’s stick. Despite a more dynamic and lively power play than last time, the Preds were unable to score, and the teams returned to even strength as the period wound down. Saros had to make a quick save on a JT Miller breakaway, and the Canucks finished the period strong, with another long stretch in the offensive zone.
Again the crowd wanted a penalty–this one on Sissons, for an encounter with Conor Garland–and the refs didn’t provide it, leaving Sissons and Garland to exchange remarks after the whistle. There were only three seconds left in the period, though, and they passed quickly, leaving the Preds escaping to intermission more or less unscathed despite a very rough period at even strength.
Miller started the third with a great chance that barely missed the net, and Lauzon took a cross-checking penalty against Brock Boeser while in a bad defensive spot seconds later. Saros made some massive saves, and the Preds managed to kill it off with his help before getting another power play of their own. Philip Di Giuseppe took a seat for tripping O’Reilly, to the mounting outrage of the Vancouver crowd.
The Canucks killed it off and came back with a vengeance, with Quinn Hughes scoring through traffic at 8:59 and a completely unattended Dakota Joshua taking advantage of that defensive breakdown to give Vancouver its first lead of the game twelve seconds later. 3-2 Canucks at 9:11. Vancouver continued to pressure for an interval, but the Preds finally managed to stem the tide.
Josi had a great wraparound chance as Nashville pushed back, but Demko made the stop on both that and the followup chances. As the game wound toward the end of regulation, the Canucks tightened up their defensive game, keeping the Preds well to the outside. Right at the two-minute mark, Saros headed to the bench for the extra skater, but 32 seconds later Joshua scored his second of the night into the empty net.
The Preds pulled Saros again after regaining possession, but were unable to crack the Vancouver shell, and fell 2-4 in Game 1. Game 2 will be on Tuesday, and we’ll have some more detailed analysis of this game for you tomorrow morning.