The Canucks — specifically their fourth line — started this game with some good jump early on. They were quicker to pucks than the Preds were, got in on the forecheck, and did a good job of vacating the defensive zone quickly when Nashville counterattacked.
JT Miller got a golden opportunity to open the scoring when Vinny Desharnais found him with a beautiful stretch pass to send Miller in on a breakaway against Juuse Saros.
Saros made the stop, but the main point here is that Desharnais is hitting teammates with stretch passes. He had a great sequence in overtime against Seattle last night, and his play has certainly improved as of late. But stretch passes like that? I don’t know what’s gotten into Vinny, but I’m liking it.
Speaking of great sequences, the opening period ended in a scoreless tie thanks in part to some spectacular saves from Kevin Lankinen, who seemed to pick up right from where he left off last night in Seattle.
Before the end of the first, we saw some rough stuff, as Dakota Joshua dropped the gloves with Michael McCarron.
This fight really seemed to ignite the Canucks’ bench, as the pace of this game picked up over the final half of the first period. Nice to see Joshua start to look more and more like the player we’ve seen him be before.
In the second, it looked like it took just 13 seconds for Teddy Blueger to open the scoring, but the goal was immediately waved off due to goaltender interference.
On the next shift, Kiefer Sherwood and Dakota Joshua — the two had four hits each after the opening 20 minutes — moved in on a 2-on-1 but Saros got a small piece of Sherwood’s shot. Those two had their A-games early on.