Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scored 12 seconds apart just before the midpoint of the third period as the host Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The comeback victory featured the fastest pair of playoff goals in Canucks franchise history.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Tuesday in Vancouver.
Joshua scored twice in a three-point outing, and Elias Lindholm also scored for Vancouver. Goaltender Thatcher Demko made 20 saves.
Jason Zucker and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Predators, while goalie Juuse Saros stopped 17 shots.
With his team trailing 2-1, Quinn Hughes cued up the comeback at 8:59 of the final frame. The Canucks captain whipped a long point shot that Suter, who was among several players in front of the net, deflected in for a goal.
Then, Joshua put Vancouver ahead before the Suter goal could be announced. Thanks to a strong forecheck by Lindholm, Conor Garland gained the puck, fed a pass to Joshua in the slot and Joshua buried the opportunity.
The Canucks were hosting a postseason game for the first time since 2015.
“It was special to be honest. Watching the (New Jersey) Devils last year (with brothers Jack and Luke) playing their series, I can’t say it was close to what we witnessed today,” Hughes said Sunday.
Joshua’s empty-net goal with 88 seconds remaining rounded out the scoring. Joshua collected 18 goals and 14 assists in the regular season.
“We showed our resiliency tonight. We’ve done it all season, so it was nice to do it in the playoffs,” Joshua said Sunday. “The building was incredible. It helped us all night. We’ll try to get another one on Tuesday.”
The Predators, who secured the Western Conference’s top wild-card spot, had the Pacific Division champion Canucks where they wanted them until the quick-strike goals.
Zucker, acquired at the trade deadline, opened the scoring at 16:15 of the first period. Off a won offensive-zone faceoff, Zucker fired a shot from the right circle that ricocheted slightly off a defender and into the top shelf.
Lindholm, Vancouver’s key in-season trade acquisition, tied the clash 47 seconds into the second period by burying a screened shot off the rush.
O’Reilly’s power-play goal restored Nashville’s lead 10:46 into the second period. Left alone at the left dot, he fired a shot past Demko’s glove to make it a 2-1 count.
O’Reilly called the defeat “frustrating.”
“The game was right there for us, and when they got momentum, we didn’t respond the way we normally do. It’s a lesson for us. It happens. We’ll make our adjustments and get back at it,” O’Reilly said.
–Field Level Media
