The big narrative heading into this game was, of course, Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko’s injury. He was replaced in net by Casey DeSmith, and Nashville was able to take advantage of that to steal a much-needed road win.
Anthony Beauvillier got the scoring started early, tipping a Filip Forsberg shot past DeSmith at 1:14. The Canucks responded well, forcing Juuse Saros to make a few big saves and then drawing a penalty, as Brock Boeser got Colton Sissons to take a slash at him. The Preds got that one killed off without too much difficulty, but almost immediately took a too-many-men penalty.
Vancouver got some very alarming chances on their second power play, with Saros having to make some great stops on their top scorers (and one very lucky JT Miller miss). Still, again Nashville made it out the other side unscathed. Even with their fifth skater back on the ice, though, the Preds were hard-pressed to defend against a ferocious Vancouver attack. Jason Zucker went down blocking a shot and struggled off the ice, as the Canucks continued to cycle.
The Preds finally made it out of their own zone, but still had difficulty getting any kind of sustained attack going. They did eventually get a power play, at 14:42, as Noah Juulsen interfered with Gustav Nyquist, but the Canucks turned in a fantastic penalty kill, getting repeated clears and preventing the Preds from doing much of anything.
Tempers continue to heat up, with a few things that probably could have been called against both sides, and Elias Pettersson drew a holding penalty as Ryan McDonagh tried to make a defensive play with under a minute to go in the period. Pettersson just missed the goal with seconds to go, and the Preds were able to finish the kill after intermission.
As the second line broke into the Vancouver zone on the rush, Juulsen took another penalty, whacking at Beauvillier’s hands and interfering with the chance but taking a seat as a result. This power play for Nashville looked better than the first, getting some zone time and some shots at goal, but DeSmith had the saves on the shots he saw.
A scary moment came not long after when Juulsen and Cole Smith collided and both fell, with Smith getting hit in the jaw area by Juulsen’s skate and Juulsen narrowly escaping getting hit by Smith’s. Fortunately, both players were okay, with only minor damage to Smith.
Nashville continued to try to press, despite the failed power play. Ryan O’Reilly forced a turnover deep in the Canucks’ zone and set Filip Forsberg up for a fantastic shot, and Forsberg–somehow totally ignored by the Canucks’ entire defense–walked up to DeSmith and put that shot under the crossbar to extend the Preds’ lead to 2-0 at 6:29.
The Canucks tried to roar back, but the Preds forced their way back out of their zone and into the offensive zone, where Colton Sissons picked up a rebound and gave the Preds their third of the night at 8:04. Saros was sharp again on the Vancouver counter, and the Preds bounced the Canucks back out of their zone without much delay.
Finally, the Canucks got back into the Nashville zone, setting up a cycle that trapped the Preds deep in their own end with the long change. Another piece of luck came through when Nikita Zadorov missed a pass that became an own clear and the Preds were able to change. When Vancouver came back, however, with another brutal shift that had the Preds out there for almost–or over–two minutes, Zadorov was able to make up for his earlier miss by getting the Canucks on the board at 15:33.
While the Preds tried to respond, Zucker took a slashing penalty against Quinn Hughes. Nashville started the kill strong, with Michael McCarron almost getting a shorthanded goal off a rush with Smith, but DeSmith unfortunately made a critical save. With some more valiant shot-blocking and a Pettersson shot that just barely deflected onto–and back off of–the crossbar, the Preds killed it off, then escaped to intermission.
Again Vancouver started the third strong, and Saros–tracking the play well, but having to track it more than I’d like–worked on making saves while the skaters in front of him worked on blocking shots. The Preds managed some brief clears, but the Canucks’ forecheck and cycle games were much in evidence.
Saros continued to be tested as the period continued, making saves ranging from routine to aggressive, and at one point sprawling full-length in the blue paint as he grabbed the puck before Dakota Joshua could shoot it. The Canucks kept the heat turned up, getting more of those extended shifts and forcing the Preds to block shots and ice the puck, with another massive stop from Saros on Brock Boeser to get a whistle after a key icing.
Forsberg, finally making his way deep into the offensive zone, drew a penalty from Hughes, and the Preds got another chance on the power play at 15:01. The Preds finally got some time near DeSmith, but weren’t able to do anything with it. With just about two minutes to go, Rick Tocchet pulled DeSmith–which he probably could have done at the start of the period, for all the shots on net the Preds got.
Inspired by the lack of goalie, Kiefer Sherwood made it 4-1 into the empty net at 18:07, and a scuffle between players after the whistle sent Zadorov off to the box and gave the Preds a late power play. The Preds were able to finish out the game successfully, and will have two days to adapt their offense before Friday’s game in Nashville.