*Sorry for the lack of photos! Hoping to get permission eventually.*
After being behind 2-1 against the Nashville Predators, Pius Suter tied it and Dakota Joshua put the Canucks in the lead to finish up Game One with a 4-2 final at the Rogers Arena on Sunday, April 21st. Thatcher Demko made a total of 20 saves for Vancouver, and Juuse Saros made 17 saves for Nashville. The Predators and Canucks meet again on Tuesday for game Game Two.
Predators lineup against the Canucks:
Forsberg - O'Reilly - Nyquist
Jankowski - Sissons - Zucker
Beauvillier - Novak - Evangelista
Smith - McCarron - Sherwood
Donagh - Josi
Lauzon - Carrier
Stastney - Schenn
Saros
Lankinen
Canucks lineup against the Predators:
Suter - Miller - Boeser
Hoglander - Pettersson - Laffery
Joshua - Lindholm - Garland
Mikheyev - Blueger - Di Giuseppe
Hughes - Hronek
Soucy - Myers
Zadorov - Cole
Demko
DeSmith
Late in the opening period, Jason Zucker gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with 3:45 left on the clock. Zucker struck from the top of the right circle short side with a wrister that had caught Thatcher Demko when he was pushing to his right behind traffic.
Elias Lindholm tied it early to put Vancouver on the board only 47 seconds into the middle frame with a laser on a rush from above the left circle to beat Juuse Saros under his blocker. At 9:14 of the second, Ryan O'Reilly broke the tie on a power play to put Nashville back on top 2-1. With Luke Evangelista driving to the net, O'Reilly fired from the left face-off dot and the puck went right over Thatcher Demko's glove.
A goal that had been originally thought to be scored by Quinn Hughes had been credited to Pius Suter, as he deflected Hughes' point shot under Juuse Saros' glove to tie it 2-2. Only 12 seconds later, Dakota Joshua put the Canucks in a 3-2 lead at the edge of the crease, scoring blocker side after both Elias Lindholm and Conor Garland won a battle behind the net. With 1:28 remaining in the final frame, Joshua struck once again for an empty-netter and for a 4-2 victory.
Dakota Joshua on the emotion in the building, when he scored, and what the Game One win means: "The building was crazy. You think you know what to expect until you get out and then you don't. The fans were behind us all night, and it was nice to pull through for them," - "A special moment. I'll never forget it, and it makes you want to keep doing it - It means a lot. Obviously, you could tell that the building was rocking all night. It was nice that we could get the first one out of the way. We're going to need them on this ride. It means a lot to us to know that they have our back through it all."
Quinn Hughes on the game overall and the energy from the fans: "I think we just stayed patient the entire game. We didn't really push too hard or give anything up when we're down, going to the third and we got our looks. We knew we were going to get some looks," - "I couldn't really believe how loud the fans were... I've seen some playoff games. I went to New Jersey and the Garden last year and watched, but it wasn't like anything that we just witnessed. It was pretty special, especially for me being here five years and seeing some of those that we've hit, but to be able to come out here and see the support and see how much it means to the city and the people here is pretty special."
Notes:
- The Nashville Predators was 32-4-1 when leading after two periods during the regular season while the Canucks was 3-14-2 when trailing after 40 minutes.
- The two goals in 12 seconds by the Canucks were the fastest in their history.
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