Special teams were the difference for the Vancouver Canucks in a high-leverage Game 3 against the Nashville Predators.
The Predators, hyped up by their home crowd, poured on the pressure in the opening minutes but the Canucks weathered the storm with some sharp goaltending by Casey DeSmith, a bunch of blocked shots, and a little bit of luck when Ryan O'Reilly sent a rebound off Tyler Myers' shin and just wide.
Even when the Canucks got into penalty trouble, taking three minor penalties in the first period, the penalty kill came up big, allowing just two shots on goal across the six minutes.
Meanwhile, the other half of the Canucks' special teams went to work. Michael McCarron ran Casey DeSmith behind the net — making no effort whatsoever to avoid hitting the goaltender — putting the Canucks on the power play.
After a great keep-in by Quinn Hughes at the blue line, J.T. Miller came downhill on the left side and rifled a wrist shot past Juuse Saros, who couldn't see his release past a Brock Boeser screen.
It was the Canucks' first shot of the game and it came 13:23 into the first period. It was also their first power play goal of the series.
The power play struck again in the second period after Conor Garland drew a trip on Roman Josi.
Once again, Boeser set up at the top of the crease in front of Saros but this time got a pass from Miller. Boeser presented his blade for Miller's hard centring feed and tipped it through the goaltender's legs before he could be dumped to the ice by Predators defenceman Jeremy Lauzon.
After going 0-for-6 on the power play through the first two games, the Canucks were 2-for-3 in Game 3.
The Predators pushed back hard in the second period but DeSmith, who settled in after some shaky moments earlier in the game, came up with a fantastic toe save on Luke Evangelista to keep the Predators off the scoreboard.
The crucial turning point of the third period was a 21-second 5-on-3 for the Predators after Nikita Zadorov cleared the puck over the glass while killing a Boeser tripping penalty.
With the two-man advantage, Ryan O'Reilly had a seemingly certain goal on his stick but a splayed-out Ian Cole took the shot off his helmet to save a goal and send the puck out of play.
That was the story of the game: the Canucks went 2-for-3 on the power play; the Predators went 0-for-5, including time with a two-man advantage. The Canucks' perfect penalty kill combined with the power play coming alive won the game for the Canucks.
The Predators did come close, with Luke Evangelista firing a shot top corner past DeSmith after Filip Hronek was beaten at the Canucks' blue line, making the score 2-1. The Canucks arguably had a case for goaltender interference, as Colton Sissons made contact with DeSmith's skate before the puck went by but challenging the goal would have been a gamble — a failed challenge would have resulted in a delay-of-game penalty.
With Saros pulled for the extra attacker, the Predators pushed hard in the final minutes but some great saves by DeSmith and committed shot-blocking by the Canucks closed out the win.
BOXSCORE
Want a more in-depth recap of the game? Read the I Watched This Game feature. Don't forget to follow @passittobulis on X/Twitter to stay updated on the Canucks throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
