With just under eight minutes left in the third period of Tuesday’s playoff game, Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh looked into the mouth of a yawning Vancouver net — and somehow shot the puck wide from close range.
His missed rebound attempt not only left the game tied, but felt like one of those uh-oh moments, the kind that come back to bite teams that fail to take advantage of golden opportunities.
The Predators were all too familiar with such instances, having watched Colton Sissons’ attempt at an empty-net goal bounce off a goalpost last Sunday, a prelude to a blown lead and disastrous overtime defeat.
On Tuesday, however, the Preds showed no interest in helping history repeat itself.
Just 25 seconds after McDonagh’s miss, Nashville defenseman Alexandre Carrier covered for his fellow blueliner, firing a slapshot through traffic that beat Vancouver goalie Arturs Silovs to give the Preds a 2-1 lead with 7:14 left in regulation.
Unlike Sunday’s Game Four, the Predators closed out Game Five with poise and — for the most part — mistake-free play down the stretch, capturing the victory that cut Vancouver’s lead to 3-2 in this best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoff series. The Preds will return to Bridgestone Arena for Game 6, as they’ll host the Canucks on Friday (6 p.m. CT start time).
“It’s great for us to go back to Nashville,” Predators defenseman Roman Josi told reporters. “We knew before the game [the Canucks] didn’t want to come back to Nashville. Obviously they wanted to close out tonight. But … next game, we’re still facing elimination. They want to close out in Nashville. It’s just how playoffs work. Momentum is big. But at the same time, you have to find a way to play even better [the] next game.”
The victory capped both a third-period rally and a 48-hour resurgence for the Predators, whose chances at extending the series looked bleak after blowing a 3-1 lead with less than three minutes remaining in regulation in Game Four, then surrendering the game-winning goal 1:02 into overtime.
That outcome marked the second time in the series the Predators had given up a third-period advantage, and it gave the Canucks an opportunity to close matters out Tuesday in front of a Rogers Arena sellout crowd hungry to see Vancouver’s first series win since 2020.
When Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov scored an unlikely goal — from a sharp angle to Juuse Saros’ right — 3:11 into the final period, it looked as if Vancouver was on its way to the second round.
But the Predators bounced right back when Josi scored an unlikely goal himself, one that snapped a stretch of 17 straight failed power plays.
The Nashville captain skated across the Vancouver crease and tried to tuck a shot behind Silovs before Josi was knocked to the ice. The puck wound up lying in the blue paint, until it was shoved in by some combination of Silovs, Vancouver forward Teddy Blueger and a helpful pile push of forward Gustav Nyquist.
“I’m sure [the NHL’s video review] took a look at it,” Josi said regarding potential goalie interference on the play. “I felt like I had a little bit of an opening. Tried to go around the goalie and [the puck] just somehow laid there and I don’t know what happened after. But I kind of laid there and saw it go in. So that’s all that mattered.”
Five-and-a-half minutes later, Carrier’s blistering blueline missile — okay, it was actually more of a tumbling muffin — eluded the screened Silovs and the Predators had their game-winning goal.
“[Carrier’s] shot was a just great shot,” Josi said with a smile. “I think it was like 69 miles per hour probably."
Added Carrier: "Maybe 70."
Speedy or not, it was powerful enough to pump new life into a series that had looked all but over.