The Vancouver Canucks scored two quick goals in the first period and again in the second period to hand the Nashville Predators their first loss in their last five games.
Tonight the Nashville Predators welcomed the 21-9-2 Vancouver Canucks to Bridgestone Arena for the third and final matchup between these two teams. The Canucks are one of the top teams in the league in goals for, goals against, and overall record with solid performances up and down the lineup. J.T. Miller entered tonight's game as the Canucks' leading scorer. Thatcher Demko has been outstanding in net, but tonight Casey DeSmith got the start in net for the Canucks. DeSmith entered the game tonight with a .923 save percentage.
The Predators made a few adjustments to their lineup ahead of tonight's game. Dante Fabbro was a healthy scratch on defense while Kiefer Sherwood sat out tonight to give him a bit more rest and recovery from an upper body injury.
Forsberg - Ryan O'Reilly - Nyquist
Novak - Glass - Evangelista
Trenin - Sissons - Pärssinen
Smith - McCarron - Tomasino
Josi - McDonagh
Lauzon - Carrier
Barrie - Schenn
Saros
Nils Hoglander headed to the penalty box early in the first period for a slash on Ryan McDonagh, and the Predators went on the power play at 4:09. While the power play unit got set up and got a shot on goal, an interference call on Tyson Barrie with :19 seconds remaining in the power play switched play to a brief four on four. The Preds were able to kill off the remainder of the Barrie penalty, and the teams returned to five a side.
The teams exchanged brief offensive chances through the middle of the period, but neither team could maintain sustained offensive pressure. A quick transition by the Canucks up the ice found Elias Pettersson open at the blue line. Pettersson drove to the middle of the circle and shot the puck past Saros at 16:38 to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later an errant pass from Tyson Barrie behind the net to the slot resulted in a quick turnover and goal for Nils Aman giving the Canucks a 2-0 lead.
There was a flurry of activity at the end of the first period as Jeremy Lauzon laid a big but legal hit on Conor Garland. It appeared Jeremy Dakota wanted to go after Lauzon so Michael McCarron stepped in and dropped the gloves. Dakota skated away, and McCarron exchanged words with Dakota. Apparently the officials didn't like what was said because McCarron was given a two minute unsportsmanlike penalty, a ten minute misconduct, and a game misconduct and escorted off the ice. The period ended with the Canucks up 2-0 and with 1:47 of power play time remaining to start the second period.
The Predators were able to kill of the rest of the McCarron penalty and got a breakaway chance as Tommy Novak scooped up the puck and headed to the net after exiting the box. He was taken down from behind and wound up on his back, but there was no call from the refs on the play. Nashville controlled the puck through the middle of the period, but couldn't get anything past DeSmith until Luke Evangelista found Jeremy Lauzon entering the zone and Lauzon scored at 14:20.
The one goal game was short lived as Nils Hoglander quickly tipped in a point shot just :18 seconds later and Pius Suter pushed the puck past Saros who was sprawled in the net looking for the loose puck at 15:24.
With less than a minute to go in the period, the Predators were whistled for a bench minor for too many men on the ice. The teams headed into the second intermission with Vancouver up 4-1 and just over a minute of power play time left.
The Predators killed off the remaining power play to start the third period, but Teddy Blueger drove down and scored almost immediately after the penalty was over to make it 5-1. After the Blueger goal, Andrew Brunette pulled Juuse Saros and put in Kevin Lankinen.
Vancouver's momentum was interrupted by a whistle for too many men at 6:58. The Predators power play generated chances but couldn't get the puck past DeSmith, and the teams returned to full strength.
The Predators continued to work for offensive chances, but the Canucks blocked shots and transitioned quickly down the ice for opportunities of their own. With less than a minute to go, the Predators made one last push in transition, and Cody Glass tipped a goal past DeSmith to make the final score 5-2.