The Preds opened the scoring in this one early in the first. And yes, it was the Soucy-Myers pairing on the ice. 1-0 Predators.
The Canucks have obviously made it a habit to give up the first goal, but they’ve also found a good amount of success despite that becoming a habit for them.
Aatu Räty scored his first goal as a Canuck moments later after a nice move and subsequent shot from Erik Brännström to make it 1-1.
I thought Räty had his best game since his recall to the big club last night against Chicago, so it was fitting that he was rewarded for those efforts early into this game.
Other highlights of the period: Carson Soucy missing Conor Garland for what would have been a breakaway pass by about a foot, and again, we need to ask — what is going on with the Soucy-Myers pairing?
Kiefer Sherwood made a nice play to set up Elias Pettersson in tight, but Juuse Saros came out to challenge and cut down the angle before Pettersson could get a shot off.
After a shaky-ish start to the first, the Canucks finished the opening frame relatively strong. In the second, the Preds came out with an extra half step that they didn’t have in the first period.
The Canucks’ fourth line had some juice tonight, and Erik Brännström seemed to be feeding off that, as the fourth line did well to build some momentum. That momentum led to the Canucks’ first power play of the game (at least that’s what we’re going with), and the power play — which has looked better since Jonathan Lekkerimäki has been added to it — made good on that first chance.
Elias Pettersson played catch with Quinn Hughes and blasted home a vintage Pettersson one-timer (yes we know he’s only 26) to make it 2-1 Canucks.
Slowly but surely, Pettersson is reaching “back” status. But he’s not there yet.
The Preds tied things up early in the second after Steven Stamkos scored a power play marker:
Kiefer Sherwood found himself on a breakaway at the end of a shift, but whiffed on the shot attempt before breaking his stick in frustration upon returning to the bench. The Preds used that opportunity to score their second goal in quick order, taking their second lead of the night. 3-2.
A Conor Garland holding penalty gave the Preds another power play opportunity, and again, it was Steven Stamkos who struck to extend the Predators’ lead to two. 4-2 Preds seemingly in the blink of an eye.
Just like that, the Canucks entered the third period in need of a comeback.
The Preds took a too many men on the ice penalty, giving the Canucks a prime chance to start their comeback attempt. Instead, the Canucks moved to 1-for-2 on the man advantage, and failed to test Juuse Saros on the two minute opportunity.
JT Miller was benched down the final stretch of the third. That’s something to watch, and will be interesting to hear from Tocchet about post game. We’ll have a story on that soon.
Kiefer Sherwood scored a quick slap shot goal with just over five minutes remaining to bring the Canucks within one late. 4-3 Canucks.
Sherwood was chirping at his old teammates all night long, and you just had a feeling he’d play a factor in this one.
With just under two minutes remaining, the Canucks pulled Kevin Lankinen to try to forge a comeback.
Gus Nyquist bombed a shot at the empty net, and put the seal on this one.
5-3 final.
Some takeaways from tonight:
-We can analyze this team as much as we want, but one thing has become painfully clear as we approach American Thanksgiving — the Canucks’ blueline simply isn’t good enough. If they want to do anything in the playoffs, they’re going to need at least one top four defenceman. And they could probably use more than that, too.
-Back to back weekend games should be against the rules.
-Luke Schenn putting the dangles on Tyler Myers was a real WTF moment.
-I still liked what I saw from Kevin Lankinen tonight, but it feels like when the Canucks were squeaking
-JT Miller looks a bit lost without Brock Boeser, doesn’t he?
-Really liked Kiefer Sherwood’s game tonight.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game?
