Game 4 of the Vancouver Canucks-Nashville Predators series offered both unforgettable sequences as well as a lot of the sluggish play that dominated the previous games. Through it all, the Canucks escaped with a 4-3 overtime victory – helped by a Brock Boeser hat trick – providing them with a critical 3-1 advantage through four games.
Game Sent to Overtime in Thrilling Manner
From a neutral perspective, it was a bizarre game to require extra time. For about two and a half minutes at the start, the Canucks looked confident. Third-string netminder Arturs Silvos made an early stop to settle in and Boeser sniped home a brilliant J.T. Miller pass after the Canucks won a face-off in the Predators’ zone. After the anemic attacking output in Game 3, this looked promising for Rick Tocchet’s ensemble.
That is until Nashville took over the contest for approximately 54 ½ minutes. The Predators’ forechecking, neutral zone defence, and timely, opportunistic offence flipped the script to make it a 3-1 game. Mark Jankowski tipped home a first-period equalizer, Gustav Nyquist wristed home a goal in the middle frame on a two-on-one that originated after a brilliant defensive play, and Filip Forsberg slotted home a goal 12 seconds into the third period.
Vancouver thrillingly pushed the contest to overtime with two more Boeser goals in the final three minutes with their goalie sent to be bench. Somehow a rather mediocre performance was rewarded with an opportunity to win the day. And so it was, as 1:01 into OT Conor Garland slid the puck from behind the Nashville net to Elias Lindholm, who happily obliged with the game-winner.
Game 5 goes Tuesday in Vancouver.
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