Canucks unsung hero pushes team to comeback victory in Game 1

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The Vancouver Canucks came from behind to capture Game 1 against the Nashville Predators by a score of 4-2.

It was Dakota Joshua, just recently name the team’s unsung hero, who had two goals and an assist to power the team to victory.

It had been nearly a decade since Rogers Arena played host to a playoff game. Canucks fans showed up in full force to support their local team.

The atmosphere was electric and the air buzzed with anticipation, both inside and outside the building.

The buzz only grew as the team took the ice to U2’s Where the Streets Have No Names, just as they did during the famous 2011 playoff run.

The crowd was making their presence felt, just like head coach Rick Tocchet asked for this morning.

The game got off to a slow start with both teams focused on taking the body early. The opening period featured a combined 35 hits but just 10 total shots between the two teams.

The Predators got the first dangerous scoring chance when Anthony Beauvillier fire a shot at a wide-open cage off a two-on-one. He was denied by his former teammate Demko as the Predators got an introduction to the Vezina Trophy-candidate goalie.

While Demko shut the door on that scoring chance early, he was beat for the first goal of the game later in the first period. Elias Pettersson was waved out of the faceoff circle and Sam Lafferty took the draw in his place. There was a defensive miscommunication after the ensuring faceoff loss and the Predators got on the board first.

It was mid-season acquisition Elias Lindholm who scored the Canucks first goal of the postseason. His wrist shot beat Juuse Saros at the start of the second period to tie the game at one.

Lindholm’s goal seemed to kickstart the Canucks into hyperdrive as they dominated the next ten minutes, keeping the puck in the Predators zone.

The Predators took back their lead later in the second period when Ryan O’Reilly beat Demko on the power play. The Canucks goalie’s glove was interfered with on the play but Rick Tocchet decided not to challenge, perhaps wisely as it’s unclear if the goal would’ve been overturned.

The home team then took two more penalties in the second period, giving the Predators a chance to double their lead. However a few successful kills would keep the deficit at one.

Both teams killed off penalties to start the third period as the Canucks desperately tried to find the tying goal. They would get it from captain Quinn Hughes near the midway point of the final period when his long shot through traffic found the back of the net.

Just as the crowd was settling down from celebrating the tying goal, Dakota Joshua got them back out of their seats with the go-ahead marker. The two goals came just 12 seconds apart, completely switching the contest’s momentum and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Joshua added another empty-net goal later to propel the team to victory.

Game 2 of the series is set for Tuesday back at Rogers Arena.

More to come…

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