DeSmith steps up in massive Canucks Game 3 win in Nashville

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Casey DeSmith said prior to this game that he likes to have an “underdog mentality.”

In case anyone was doubting him, they shouldn’t be after this contest.

The Vancouver Canucks netminder was the story in this game, carrying the Canucks to a 2-1 road win in Game 3 over the Nashville Predators.

Although the Canucks won, they were outshot 31-12.

Despite a lack of shots, the Canucks were finally able to break through on the power play.

After going 0-for-6 in Games 1 and 2, J.T. Miller broke the Canucks power play drought, snapping home a wrist shot over the blocker of Juuse Saros.

The Canucks were able to capitalize on this power play after 6-foot-6 Predators’ centre Michael McCarron blatantly bulled over DeSmith behind the net.

In the second period, Miller once again made the Predators pay on the power play. This time, he flashed his elite playmaking ability with a sublime pass to Brock Boeser, who buried the tip in right in front of Saros.

With a goal and an assist, Miller was the driving force for the Canucks on offence. He also had six of the team’s 12 shots on goal.

Speaking of those 12 shots, it was the lowest total ever by the Canucks in a playoff game. Not that they’ll care.

It was also 12 shots higher than the lowest total ever recorded in the playoff win.

It was the opposite of Game 2, where the Canucks couldn’t buy a goal despite registering 84 shots attempts. In this contest, the Canucks had just 33 shots attempts and were outshot 25-7 at even strength.

Even though the total wasn’t close on the shot clock, it didn’t necessarily feel like the Predators were dominating. Nashville actually held only a slight edge in terms of scoring chances, with a 18-14 edge over the Canucks.

DeSmith carried the Canucks the rest of the way, shutting them down despite the Canucks being outshot 14-3 in the third period. The 32-year-old nearly had a shutout, but Luke Evangelista spoiled his bid with just over three minutes remaining.

Game 4 is back at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Sunday at 2:00pm PT.

More to come…

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