The Vancouver Canucks finally dispatched the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6, winning a hard-fought battle 1-0, thus claiming the series 4-2. As expected, it was a valiantly fought contest between two sides that had engaged in close calls for nearly two weeks. As Game 6 wore on, though, something was happening. Something was burgeoning before the eyes of everyone at Bridgestone Arena and watching the telecast. Something Canucks fans had hoped for, and, presumably Predators fans dreaded. The real Canucks stood up.
Potent Vancouver Comes Through
What made the Canucks’ Game 6 performance all the more impressive was the fact that it was a closeout contest. After all, so had been Game 5, and they played well in that one, too, despite suffering a bitter defeat. Nay, the sixth bout was special because it was in Nashville. Say what one will about Vancouver’s heroics in Games 3 and 4 – also as the away side – but they didn’t exactly look like the better side. Game 4 was essentially theft.
They needed a match on the road, in the notoriously tough environment of Bridgestone, that looked as though they were playing at home. They needed to be swift, confident, skillful, inventive, and thoughtful. Asking the hockey gods to allow Vancouver to pull off another road miracle despite a mostly dubious performance would have been a massive gamble.
To the club’s and Rick Tocchet’s credit, they answered the bell. Pius Suter, who scored the game and series clincher, was extraordinary. He found himself in the right place at the right time on several occasions, only for the typically brilliant Juuse Saros to rob him. That is until there was only 1:39 left in regulation. It capped off Vancouver’s most impressive showing of the series. A 1-0 final suggests a good battle, and that it was, but this time, for once, the Canucks looked like the better team and actually won.
They registered 29 shots on target, their highest tally of all six matches. They had less than 10 at the end of the first period, and it looked as though things were taking a turn similar to the earlier games in Nashville. Whatever was said during the first intermission, it worked because the Canucks never looked back. Brock Boeser was clever and great, and so was Connor Garland. Elias Pettersson looked hungrier. Everyone looked hungrier. Faceoffs were won, space was found to skate through, battles were won against the boards, and pressure was kept in Nashville’s zone.
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