The Vancouver Canucks earned their first home playoff win since 2015 on Sunday night, sending the raucous 18,967 in attendance at Rogers Arena home happy after a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
The Nucks found themselves down 2-1 entering the third period, but managed two goals in just 12 seconds midway through the final frame en route to the thrilling triumph.
And the two tallies in just 12 seconds were also the fastest goals in franchise history, according to NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley.
It was an electric ending for the Canucks, who handed the Predators their sixth straight Game 1 loss. Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scored the two massive third period goals, helping Vancouver rally to a 4-2 win in its first taste of postseson action since 2020.
After winning the Pacific Division for the first time ever, the expectations are Stanley Cup or bust in British Columbia. And getting a victory in the opener in a huge start for this club.
“It’s a special moment. I’ll never forget it,” Joshua said about scoring the tie-breaking goal. “And it makes you want to keep doing it.”
Dakota Joshua was Canucks’ hero in Game 1
Along with the game-winning goal, Joshua also deposited an empty netter to seal the victory with 1:28 remaining in the third period. He was the hero in Game 1, and he pointed to the frenzied crowd as a huge motivator, especially late in the game.
“The building was crazy,” the 27-year-old explained, per Woodley. “You think you know what to expect until you get out there and you don’t. The fans were behind us all night and it was nice to pull through for them.”
“Goose bumps for sure,” echoed linemate Elias Lindholm, who scored Vancouver’s opening goal early in the second period.
“Just in the warmups, people are standing up, you’re kind of fired up, kind of have to control your emotions a little bit during the warmup. It’s great to have playoff hockey. Obviously, it’s a lot of fun. It’s always nice to score, especially in front of the fans here. Right now, it doesn’t matter who scores, but I’m glad I could help a little bit.”
It’s the first playoff meeting between the Predators and Canucks since the 2011 second-round, a series Vancouver won in six games en route to a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
And after beating Nashville in all three of their regular-season contests in 2023-24, it was much of the same on Sunday night. Despite being 3-14-2 when trailing after 40 minutes this campaign, a resilient Canucks team found a way to get the job done.
With an important Game 1 win under their belts, Dakota Joshua and co. will look to make it a 2-0 series lead back at home on Tuesday night. The series will shift to Bridgestone Arena in Smashville for Games 3 and 4 later this week.
Puck drop is set for just past 10 p.m. ET at Rogers Arena on Tuesday, and it promises to be another electric atmosphere in downtown Vancouver.
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