A pair of third-period goals and crucial goaltending from Juuse Saros propelled the Predators to a Game 5 win, extending this series to a sixth game in Nashville.
Silovs Back In the Crease:
https://gty.im/2150407430
After his stellar Stanley Cup Playoff debut that ended with a comeback win, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet decided to go back to the young Arturs Silovs with DeSmith as his backup.
Saros Standing Tall:
Juuse Saros came to play in game 5. Putting his past four starts behind him, he reminded everyone why he’s one of the game’s best goalies by allowing only one goal on 20 shots, backstopping his team to a win.
Predators Controlling The Faceoff Dot:
In a must-win game for Nashville, they made sure to have as much possession as possible, and with a faceoff percentage of 61.4%, they controlled most of the game in the offensive and defensive zone with set plays off their faceoff wins.
Zadorov Breaks The Tie:
It took only three minutes into the third period for the first goal of the game to happen. Vancouver’s Nikita Zadorov took the puck from his own end, going coast-to-coast before rifling a bad-angle shot from the goal line over the right shoulder of Saros for a 1-0 lead.
Nashville Says “Not So Fast”:
https://gty.im/2150413262
After a boarding penalty sent Vancouver forward Dakota Joshua to the box, Nashville’s Roman Josi took a page out of Zadorov’s book going coast-to-coast before dishing off a pass to Filip Forsberg, touching it right back to Josi as he was cutting to the net.
Josi’s first chance was stopped, but after a scramble in front of the net, the puck found its way over the goal line for a 1-1 tie.
Defense Wins Games:
After multiple good chances from both sides, Nashville broke the third-period tie as a slapshot from defenseman Alexander Carrier beat a screen Silovs, giving the Preds a 2-1 lead with seven minutes left in the game.
In a post-game interview, Preds head coach Andrew Brunette praised Carrier and his goal. “I was really happy for him. He’s a heart and soul kid, highly competitive. It was great to see him get rewarded in a big-time moment.”
Preds Contain Last Minute Push For The Win:
https://gty.im/2150413494
Vancouver pulled Silovs with two minutes left in the third, but even after a plethora of chances from the Canucks, Saros and the Predators locked it down defensively, securing the win and forcing a game 6 back in Nashville Friday night.
Vancouver Feeling Confident After Loss:
Even after losing game 5 where they could’ve closed out the series, Vancouver still feels confident in their play for the rest of the series.
“I felt comfortable today,” said Silovs. “I tried my best and sometimes it happens. They score two goals and it’s hard to get out of tight games like this one.”
The lone goal scorer for VAN in game 5, Nikita Zadorov said, “I thought we had a lot of offensive zone time. We went low to high, had a lot of shots, back door chances, and deflections. We just need to bury them for the rest of the series.”
Game 6:
Game 6 between these clubs will take place in Nashville on Friday, May 3rd. Game time is still TBD at the moment.
For More Sports News:
About the author: Trevor Poetzinger is a senior at Western Michigan University studying journalism in hopes of becoming a sports journalist. Poetzinger is a big Chicago sports fan, with the Blackhawks and White Sox as his favorites. Poetzinger also loves talking about anything hockey and baseball-related, whether it’s the pros, semi-pros, or college.
For More Great Content
Total Apex is a multi-subject content producer. We provide articles every day on entertainment, gaming, sports, and more! Check out all our great sports content at Total Apex Sports. Check us out on X @TotalApexEandG and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
