NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In the Stanley Cup Playoffs things can change in a flash.
Sunday in game one of the Predators and Canucks first round series it took 12 seconds as Vancouver erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals on the way to a 3-2 win.
The Predators had been the more poised, composed team through the first 48 minutes north of the border. But Quinn Hughes’ shot from the point found its way through traffic and was tipped by Pius Suter past a shielded Juuse Saros with 11:01 left to play to tie it 2-2. Then off the ensuing faceoff Alex Carrier lost the puck along the boards behind the Preds’ goal and Conor Garland hit Dakota Joshua just outside of the blue ice in front of the net, where he deposited the puck for a 3-2 Vancouver lead.
Twelve seconds. That’s all it took for the Canucks to erase all the good work the Predators had done up until that point and grab a stranglehold of the game.
Vancouver kept the pressure on Nashville over the final 10:00, never allowing a real threat to tie the game. And Joshua’s empty-net goal from his own blue line with just 1:28 left sealed the victory for the Pacific Division champions.
The loss costs Nashville a golden opportunity to steal home ice advantage in game one after holding 1-0 and 2-1 leads after the first two periods. But Saros couldn’t save the day, allowing three goals on 20 Canucks shots.
The third period swing was particularly deflating because the Predators did a lot of things well in their return to the playoffs after missing the postseason a year ago. They weathered the early storm of a Canucks team playing its first home playoff game since 2015 in front of a fired up crowd at Rogers Arena.
Anthony Beauvillier nearly struck paydirt just 2:30 into the game on a great feed from Luke Evangelista on an odd man rush, but Thatcher Demko made a sprawling pad save to turn the shot away.
The visitors withstood the Canucks early push and took the lead on Jason Zucker’s beautiful shot from the right faceoff circle with 3:45 left in the period.
The 32-year-old Zucker and 26-year-old Beauvillier are two veteran players that Predators General Manager Barry Trotz added at the trade deadline to supplement the team’s core group of leaders. That extra playoff experience was evidenced in the team’s early poise as they outdueled a Canucks team that led the NHL in first period goals with 96 this season. After losing all three contests to the Canucks during the regular season, while holding a lead for just four total minutes, the Preds led for more than 24 minutes of game one only to cough up a rare third period lead.
It was the lost poise in the third period that the Preds will lament on their off day Monday. From mid-February on when Nashville found its stride it’s been one of the best teams in hockey at protecting leads and closing out games, but it was unable to do so Sunday and now faces a 1-0 series deficit ahead of game two Tuesday night at 9 p.m.
The Preds did some good things that they can build off of, but they will have to be better. And now they know just how slim the margin of error in the playoffs can be, where if you blink it can cost you.
On Sunday night it took 12 seconds. And now the Predators must dig themselves out of a hole.
