NASHVILLE, Tenn – Well, it took six games and a great deal of sweat and anxiety but the Vancouver Canucks shed a few demons Monday night. In a tense, hotly contested match, the Canucks eliminated the Nashville Predators 2-1 to advance to the conference finals.
And with the loss of the Predators goes a loss of passion, personality and energy none of the remaining teams can boast. The Nashville side showed the hardcore and casual fan how much fun playing the game of hockey can be.
The Canucks move on to the third round of the conference playoffs to face the winner of the Sharks-Red Wings series. The Sharks are the next closest club to a personality though much tamer than the Predators.
As the final horn sounded with the Predators looking for a clear shot on goal, the Nashville fans realized their season was over and gave their team a standing ovation for the effort Monday night, their effort in the playoffs and their season-long effort.
It was well deserved.
The night started off poorly for Nashville as they failed to capitalize on four powerplay opportunities in the first period. That opened the door for the Canucks to build a 2-0 lead through the first period.
Ryan Kesler continued his dominating play in this series by helping set up both goals.
Mason Raymond picked up the first goal on a backhand shot that beat Pekka Rinne low to the right side. Kesler had beaten two Predator defensemen (again) to force the puck to the backboards. He pushed the puck to the slot on a no-look pass that found Raymond for the goal.
Less than two minutes later Daniel Sedin added a powerplay goal that deflated the crowd and the Nashville bench.
The two clubs then played to a standoff until 3:31 of the second period when David Legwand scored yet one more bizarre goal for the Preds in this series. From a deep angle behind the goal line, Legwand shot the puck toward Roberto Luongo’s leg leading to a redirection across the goal line, just across.
The marker injected life in the crowd and the Predators resulting in an entertaining final 36 minutes of hockey.
Unfortunately for Nashville, there was too little time left as they managed only good one shot on Luongo in the closing seconds. Luongo steered the final shot to the corner with eight seconds remaining and the Canucks had their series win. And perhaps even shed a monkey form their backs in the process.
Vancouver was the better team in this series but Nashville was the more exciting and the passionate. The NHL’s best team moves on but its future team will need to wait one more season.
Contact Lou.Lafrado@prohockeynews.com
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