Canucks score buzzer-beater to beat Predators 5-4 in overtime – The Hockey Writers Vancouver Canucks Latest News, Analysis & More

On Monday night, the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators faced off for the second time in almost two weeks. The two teams played each other on October 23, with the Predators defeating the Canucks 2-1. Vancouver posted a 5-2 loss to the struggling Minnesota Wild, and Nashville posted a 4-2 win against the struggling Calgary Flames. Vancouver would get a welcome sight with their captain Quinn Hughes returning to the lineup after injury.

Summary of the game

Both teams got off to a hot start as they tried to score the opening goal of the match and take the lead. The Predators would be the team to score the opening goal of the game, with Filip Forsberg scoring. Forsberg took a great pass from Brady Skjei and he worked the pass past Thatcher Demko for a 1-0 lead. After the Predators took the lead, they sent the Canucks to the power play after Nicholas Haag took a hooking penalty.

In the favor, Vancouver had a good move, and Filip Hronek set up Evander Kane for a one-timer, and Kane finally scored his first goal as a Canuck. An obvious dream come true for the BC native. Kane’s goal was the final goal of the first period as both teams went into the break tied at 1-1.

In the second period it was a fairly even match for the first ten minutes and neither team could score during that time. But the Canucks gained a 5-on-3 lead with almost seven minutes left in the period and were able to break the tie. Shortly after the 5-on-3 ended, the Canucks retained possession and set up a play. Elias Pettersson sent a great pass to Brock Boeser, and he sent the puck to the net, which hit Jake DeBrusk to give Vancouver the 2-1 lead.

Soon after the Canucks took the lead, Tom Willander carried the puck into the Predators zone and sent it to Boeser in the slot. He fired the puck at the net and it beat Juuse Saros to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead. Another goal for Boeser and Willander’s first NHL point.

But near the end of the period, Aatu Raty took a hooking penalty to send Nashville to the power play. While playing from advantage, the Predators set up some great passing, with Luke Evangelista sending the puck to Filip Forsberg, and he advanced it to Erik Haula in the slotand he scored on Demko to bring Nashville within one before the period ended. Heading into the break with the Canucks ahead with a score of 3-2.

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In the third period, Vancouver was able to quickly respond to Nashville’s late goal and restore the two-goal lead. After a delayed Predators penalty, Hughes started a tic-tac-toe game, and Kane finished the sequence to put the Canucks up 4–2 and earn his second goal of the match. But Nashville wouldn’t go away quietly and scored another goal to get back into the game. Spencer Stastny fired a puck from the blue line, and Michael Bunting tapped in the shot to bring the Predators within one.

When Nashville went on a power play near the end of the game, Predators forward Matthew Wood attempted to send a pass to the slot, and the puck was tipped to the point. Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg one-timed the free puck and beat Demko to tie the game 4-4 with three minutes left. With the score tied, the match went to overtime to determine a winner.

In extra time, both teams traded chances as the point up for grabs is incredibly important for both teams. With the seconds ticking down, it looked like the game was headed for a shootout, but the Canucks had other ideas. After a timeout, the Canucks won possession in the offensive zone with 10 seconds left. The puck sprayed loose and Pettersson poked the puck away from Ryan O’Reilly and onto Boeser’s stick. With little time left on the clock, he dragged the puck to his backhand and defeated Juuse Saros with almost a second left on the clock to secure a huge overtime win for the Canucks.

Vancouver now has another game in the win column, improving to 7-7-0. They will play the Chicago Blackhawks in their next home game on Wednesday. The Predators now drop to 5-6-3 and will be on the road to face Minnesota tomorrow.