Canucks take 3-1 series lead after comeback win over Predators

Earlier than the playoffs started, Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet requested a few of his gamers to choose a phrase to explain their staff. 

They selected resilience.

On Sunday, the staff confirmed why, clawing its method again from a two-goal deficit late within the third interval, then scoring early in additional time to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Recreation 4 of their first-round playoff collection.

“[Resilience] is our phrase,” Tocchet mentioned. “It has been like that each one 12 months. Sure spots we have been put in, by some means we get out of them. They may not look fairly. Like tonight wasn’t fairly. And we obtained out of it by some means.”

The Canucks are actually up 3-1 within the best-of-seven collection and could have an opportunity to advance Tuesday after they host the Predators in Recreation 5.

Brock Boeser was Vancouver’s engine Sunday, scoring his first hat-trick of the playoffs. 

The rightwinger opened the scoring 2:55 into regulation, then dug Vancouver out of a two-goal deficit with a pair of targets within the closing three minutes of the third interval. 

“I believe the message is you may by no means hand over till the ultimate horn,” Boeser mentioned.

“We did not hand over there and we continued to battle again and we felt that momentum shift once we tied it up and we have been feeling actually good going into additional time.”

Elias Lindholm sealed the victory, scoring 1:02 into additional time. Canucks ahead J.T. Miller contributed three assists on the evening. 

Mark Jankowski replied to Boeser’s first objective with a first-period tally for Nashville earlier than Gustav Nyquist gave the Predators the lead within the second and Filip Forsberg added a objective early within the third.

Juuse Saros made 16 saves for Nashville and Arturs Silovs — in his first-ever NHL playoff look — stopped 27 of 30 pictures for Vancouver. 

“He made some huge saves for us tonight, and he is an enormous a part of our win,” Boeser advised the Related Press.

Nevertheless Silovs mentioned he wasn’t nervous moving into.

“I used to be wonderful, truly,” he mentioned. “I used to be simply doing my issues, counting on the issues I labored on. And that is it.”

The 23-year-old Latvian is the third goalie to play for the Canucks throughout the collection after all-star netminder Thatcher Demko and back-up Casey DeSmith went down with accidents. Demko performed Recreation 1 and is taken into account week-to-week.

DeSmith took over for Video games 2 and three, however Tocchet says he is coping with an harm and the goaltending state of affairs for Recreation 5 will likely be re-evaluated on Monday. 

“We’ll see the way it goes,” the coach mentioned. “I am proud, particularly of the goaltenders. There is a next-man-up mentality.”

The Canucks pulled Silovs in favour of an additional attacker with 3:21 left on the sport clock. 

The benefit paid off when Boeser put a shot in previous Saros 17:13 into the interval for his second objective of the sport, slicing Vancouver’s deficit to 3-2. 

With Silovs out of the online but once more, Boeser put a puck off the submit, collected his personal rebound and tucked it in previous Saros to finish his hat trick with simply eight seconds left within the recreation. 

Lindholm sealed the victory with a fast snipe previous Saros 1:02 into the additional body, marking his second objective of the playoffs.

“I used to be vast open proper in entrance,” Lindholm mentioned. “So, I imply, clearly we scored a objective and obtained type of reduction and loads of feelings and misplaced my voice a little bit bit. Nevertheless it’s feeling.”

Each side went 0-for-2 on the facility play Sunday. The Canucks have killed off 14 straight penalties.

It was the primary time the Predators misplaced a playoff recreation main by two or extra targets within the third interval in franchise historical past. 

And the Predators know what’s at stake as they head again to Vancouver, mentioned Forsberg.

“We’re going through elimination, we have to go there and win a recreation, maintain ourselves alive,” he mentioned. “Clearly, tonight did not go the way in which we wished it, however on the similar time, all these hits and all of the investing [we did], they’re taking that with them, too.”

Head coach Andrew Brunette mentioned the staff “simply type of broke down and misplaced a little bit composure there ultimately” however famous they’re a powerful highway staff as properly.

“It hurts, nevertheless it’s supposed to harm and it should be onerous, nevertheless it’s purported to be onerous. So I believe that is obtained to be the mentality. It may be even more durable the subsequent recreation, and we’ll embrace it and … we’ll transfer straight forward,” he mentioned.