The Nashville Predators were back in action tonight, facing the Vancouver Canucks on the road in the first late-late game of the season. Ryan O’Reilly played his 1000th NHL game tonight, the Canucks wore their autumnal third jerseys, and the puck dropped at a mere 9:11 PM Central.
Liam Foudy got an early chance to put the Preds on the board when he was awarded a penalty shot, but his skate caught on the ice and he didn’t manage a good look on Thatcher Demko. Sam Lafferty was the first to score, putting Vancouver on the board at 13:45, but Colton Sissons got it back less than two minutes later, tying the game at one.
Seconds later, Dante Fabbro gave the Preds a lead, taking a great shot with a screen from Gustav Nyquist. Filip Forsberg then drew a hooking penalty, and JT Miller’s subsequent remarks to the referee got him another two minutes in the box. The Preds’ power play got started to loud disapproval from the local fans, and fizzled, thanks to good work from the Canucks’ penalty kill.
Pius Suter managed to draw a penalty of his own, on the penalty kill, sending Tyson Barrie to the box and putting the teams four-on-four just as the first period ended. 53 seconds into the second period, Elias Pettersson tied the game off the rush, with the Canucks’ power play still to come. Nashville was able to kill it off, and the teams returned to five a side.
Miller took another penalty, this one a high stick against Roman Josi, a little over halfway through the second, but while the Preds got some extended zone time Demko was up to the task. Kevin Lankinen had to make a massive save on Pettersson just after the penalty expired; he managed it, but Alexandre Carrier took a penalty and the Canucks got a full power play as a result. This time, Pettersson refused to be denied, capitalizing on a screen from Brock Boeser to give the Canucks the lead back.
In a scuffle in front of Lankinen, Nils Hoglander interfered with Barrie, but eight seconds in Forsberg canceled the power play by knocking Miller’s stick out of his hands. Miller, who’d been benched at the end of the second for his penalties taken, then scored off a Boeser rebound on the four-on-four.
Now down by two, the Predators managed to find some energy to attack, but it didn’t last long before the Canucks came back to test Lankinen some more. With over three minutes remaining, the Preds pulled Lankinen, and Pettersson completed his hat trick into the empty net.
That was it for the Preds, as the clock ran out with some lackluster play from both teams.