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Nashville Predators 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (SO): Craig Smith Caps Comeback in the Shootout

Posted on by Anish Patel

It was an exciting night in Smashville as the Predators took on the Canucks.

Vancouver got on the board early on with a goal by Bo Horvat . The Canucks then extended their lead with a power play goal from Daniel Sedin.

The second period definitely started off better for the Predators. They had some solid chances and a power play in the period. Towards the end, Vancouver got their chance to try to extend their lead as they sustained decent pressure in the offensive zone. All the chances weren’t enough though as the score remained 2-0 in favor of the Canucks.

James Neal opened up the scoring in the third period to bring the Predators back within a goal. Filip Forsberg then scored shortly after to tie the game up. That is how the third ended and this one went into overtime.

In overtime, the Preds had a chance to win, but couldn’t convert. They took it to a shootout where Craig Smith won it in extras innings.

Random Observations

  • Yea, remember when Jon said in the preview that this has trap game written all over it. A horrible defensive turnover lead to a very early goal by the Canucks. Definitely not the way you want to start off a game coming off of a huge win.
  • I loved seeing Ryan Johansen getting physical out there tonight. He laid a huge hit on Ben Hutton that surprised me. I didn’t think he had that type of hit in him.
  • Early on, the Canucks sure didn’t seem like they were shutout the last three games. It also didn’t help that the Predators took a couple of penalties that kept giving them more momentum.
  • Man, I haven’t seen a start like that from this team in a while.They went down by two goals early. On a side note, that power play goal by Sedin was the first one allowed by Nashville in eight games. I guess all good things have to come to an end eventually, right?
  • That first line was trying to make something happen there towards the end of the first period. Unfortunately for them, obviously, they weren’t able to capitalize.
  • The Predators’ possession game has been one of the driving factors for their success recently, and it almost paid off again in the second period of this one. They put the pressure on, and in turn, got a power play out of it.
  • On a side note, only the Preds would have two different players block their own shots from going into the net.
  • This game tilted quickly in the later half of the second period. The Canucks had a few chances and Pekka Rinne stood tall to keep the Preds in the game at the time.
  • I love the Salomaki and Arvidsson line. Those guys are work horses. Every time I watch them, it seems like they are making something happen out of nothing.
  • After the second period, I thought the Preds would come out with some serious urgency in the third. I was wrong (as I am many times). Vancouver controlled the beginning of the third period, and the Preds couldn’t get anything going, except for the Arvidsson line.
  • NEAL!!! Persistence finally paid off for Nashville.
  • Scoresberg brought the house down with that goal. That was insane.
  • That three to four minute stretch in the third period by the Preds were some of the best I have seen in a long time.
  • Oh man, the dreaded overtime. I played the what if game with overtime with the Preds this year. If they would have won half of their overtime losses, they would be in contention for first in the division. The what if game is a slippery slope my friends.

OTF’s Super Duper Stars of the Game

  • James Neal: He scored tonight when they needed it the most.
  • Filip Forsberg: He is now two goals away from tying the franchise record for goals scored.
  • Craig Smith: Just a filthy goal to win it in a shootout./

Tweets Of The Night

Boxscore – Game Summary – Event Summary – War-on-Ice – HockeyStats – Natural Stat Trick

Roll the video highlights…


Talking Points