Saros and the Predators overcame a terrible first period and Jordan Gross netted his first two NHL goals to lift the Preds over the Canucks in a shootout win.
The Nashville Predators took the ice tonight at Rogers Arena against the Vancouver Canucks hoping to collect a second win in a row the first time since the Global Series in Prague.
Tonight's lineup looked nearly identical to Thursday's roster that earned a win over the Calgary Flames.
Dante Fabbro slotted in on the blue line with Mattias Ekholm in place of Alexandre Carrier, and Juuse Saros got tonight's start in net.
The Canucks had a rough start to their season but have turned it around winning three of their last four. Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Andrei Kuzmenko have upped their offensive production and the Canucks rank third in the league on the power play. Tonight Thatcher Demko got the nod in net for Vancouver.
Game Recap
Vancouver struck first on a quick zone entry and blue line shot at 1:58 compliments of Ilya Mikheyev. A turnover in the defensive zone made it 2-0 when JT Miller sank a rebound past Saros less than two minutes later.
Nashville finally caught a break on an interference call at 5:35. The Preds needed the interruption in momentum almost as much as they needed the man advantage. Nashville attempted several shots and Vancouver had a breakaway chance, but the score remained the same at the end of the two minutes.
A big hit along the wall led to a fight between Tanner Jeannot and Riley Stillman at 13:07, and then Stillman was joined in the penalty box by Dakota Joshua for tripping. Nashville set up on the power play for the second time, but the two minutes expired. Cole Smith and the Preds returned the man advantage at 16:39. Vancouver's top power play made Nashville pay making it 3-0.
Mikael Granlund had a good look on a breakaway, and while he didn't get the goal he did draw a penalty. Nashville's third power play opportunity couldn't threaten before the period ended.
Nashville had :17 remaining in their power play as the second period began but couldn't make good use of it. Another huge hit by Jeannot resulted in an instigator call against Vancouver, and Nashville earned another power play. Nashville finally capitalized on the opportunity as Jordan Gross tipped the puck in at 3:00 for his first NHL goal.
The Predators momentum was short-lived as Jankowski was called for interference :30 seconds later, putting the dangerous Canucks power play back on the ice. Vancouver had their chances, but Saros came up big under fire and the penalty expired.
The emotional temperature rose as the period went on and Michael McCarron earned himself two minutes to think about what he'd done after a net front scuffle. Before those two minutes could expire, the Predators shot themselves in the skate as Trenin headed to the box for high sticking. Vancouver had the two man advantage for :17, and then 1:43 with one man up. The Predators were fortunate to escape without further damage.
The moment play went back to five on five, Vancouver's Conor Garland received his two minute sentence for roughing, giving Nashville the power play. Nashville again couldn't find the back of the net against the league's worst ranked kill. The second period ended with the Canucks up 3-1.
Nashville got another great tip in from Jordan Gross just 1:06 into the third period to get the Preds within one goal. Less than two minutes later Nino Niederreiter corralled a net front puck and tapped it past Demko to tie the game early in the final period.
The tying goal gave the Predators momentum, and they spent plenty of time in the offensive zone hoping to break through for a lead through the first half of the final period. The Canucks began pushing back, and Juuse Saros kept the Predators in the game with a gloveful of high danger saves. Both teams pushed hard in the final five minutes, but neither could break through on their chances and the game headed to overtime.
Nashville dominated possession in the first half of the extra time. In the final stretch, play went back and forth, but OT couldn't break the tie and the teams moved on to the shootout.
Saros and Demko stopped both first chances. Saros stopped JT Miller on the second attempt, and Matt Duchene scored to give Nashville the advantage. Bo Horvat lost the puck before getting his shot off on the third Vancouver attempt, and the Predators walk out of Rogers Arena with two points.
Game Notes
1. As Winston Churchill once said, "Never, never, NEVER give up". The team had a rough start to the game, but clawed and scraped their way back to earning two points. Thank goodness there are no style points in hockey because this was not a pretty win, but Nashville got their second victory on this road trip.
2. Nashville's inconsistency is a problem. The Predators struggled at the start, committed too many penalties, and executed inconsistently. Fortunately, they were able to pull out the win, but consistency has to improve for the team going forward.
3. The Predators power play is a problem...a big problem. The Preds went 1/5 on the power play against the NHL's worst penalty kill. It feels like Nashville has regressed back to the power play of two season ago. More net front traffic and less perimeter passing would go a long way towards making the Preds more of a threat on the man advantage.