The difference in game four between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks was a missed empty net by Colton Sissons and a Brock Boeser hat trick. Vancouver heads home with a 4-3 overtime win as momentum shifts back to the team on home ice.
“The next one is going to be get out there and get a game, play like you did the last two games and I’ll take our chances,” head coach Andrew Brunette said.
Brunette went on to say Sissons’ missed empty netter was a hard play to make.
“That wasn’t the issue, the issue was the first and second goal to tie it,” Brunette said.
This close to an evened series going back to Vancouver. https://t.co/wxMIVT4xkm
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) April 29, 2024
Canucks forward Elias Lindholm was the hero in overtime as Vancouver takes a 3-1 series lead after trailing 3-1 with three minutes remaining in regulation.
“They’re going to play like this again,” Cancuks head coach Rick Tocchet said of Nashville. “They’re coming in game five, they aren’t changing. Brunette is one hell of a coach his game plan is there. They’re throwing three guys [on the forecheck] at us and if we’re not ready we might not be as resilient the next game.”
According to Sportsnet, the Canucks 71 shots on goal against the Predators are the fewest in NHL history through the first four games of an opening-round playoff series.
Before the puck was dropped Tocchet said he had a few lineup decisions to make before setting his roster. That one ended up being to name goalie Arturs Silovs the starter.
Now he has his first career playoff win making 27 saves on 30 shots. Tocchet said his team wins either way if he moves on to start either Silovs or DeSmith in a crucial game five.
This is the first time Nashville has faced three different goalies in a playoff series, all playing on the same team.
According to NHL Stats in the last 10 years the Penguins, Capitals, Panthers, Avalanche, and Ducks are the only teams to start three goalies in a single series. None of these teams won a playoff series when doing so.
At the end of the night, none of the context for game four mattered for a team that melted down defensively.
“It got away from us there late six on five and they’ve been known there to score goals in that situation,” forward Anthony Beauvillier said. “Sometimes that’s the way she goes and we’re going to have to flush it quick and make sure we wake up tomorrow with a good mindset.”
Canucks forward Brock Boeser got the scoring started in the first and then Mark Jankowski scored his first career playoff goal to even it up in the first period.
As the intensity amped up Gustav Nyquist stepped up with a monstrous goal in the second period. Bridgestone Arena was electric and the energy kept the Predators going throughout the evening.
Chugging time for @TaylorLewan77 at the #Preds #Canucks game. Runs in the family too. pic.twitter.com/v6GhXYuZzK
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) April 28, 2024
Before the Predators came out for the final frame they had held the Canucks to 17 shots during five-on-five play for the last five periods.
Vancouver was scratching and clawing for any opportunity on offense, and they made their efforts worthwhile to force overtime.
“They got two there at the end, but it’s part of the game,” Beauvillier said. “It’s adversity for us. It’s hard for us to put a finger on it but I thought we played a strong game, but it’s like I said it’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Vancouver made their chances count with resiliency being the driving force behind it all.
The Predators leave for Canada again on Monday morning and have a chip on their shoulder after never allowing a game-tying goal in the final 10 seconds of a regulation playoff game.
Nashville has their backs against the wall going into Vancouver for game five on Tuesday night with a 9 p.m. CT puck drop.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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