The Canucks put on a defensive performance last night en route to a 2-1 win over the Preds. They didn’t score many style points, but those aren’t a thing so they’re more than happy taking an identical 2-1 series lead in the series. If you missed the game, here ya are:
Casey DeSmith recorded his first playoff win. The power play went 2 for 3. The penalty kill went 5 for 5. The Canucks blocked 28 shots. It was an entire team effort to get that win last night, especially on the defensive side of the rink, even if their offense was a bit MIA: a franchise-low 12 shots in a playoff game. But, that don’t matter when you get the win.
“We're ecstatic with a win,” Tocchet said after the game. “But we've got to make some improvements. I like the way we defended, but I think the neutral zone, we can shore up that.”
Tocc name-checked DeSmith, the power play, and the D zone coverage as the keys to the win. And all of those are deserved. The PP finally woke up on the backs of JTM and Boeser. The D coverage was fantastic, shoving the Preds to the outside and taking away their chances when they found space (as was posted in the thread, the Preds had 13 high-danger chances but DeSmith was only forced to make 4 high-danger saves). And DeSmith showed up in a huge way, looking comfortable backstopping the team.
“DeSmith was very important for us today,” Miller said. “These are going to be two hard road games for us. Obviously, to step in and come up with a performance like that, so timely, is really big for us. We always talk about how much confidence we have in him, and he showed us today."
“That was a lot of fun,” DeSmith said. “Great atmosphere. The guys earned it. Every single person in this locker room buckled down in the third, played great the whole game. Power play, can’t say enough about that. That’s huge for us, two goals on the road. That’s the kind of stuff you need to win.”
“It couldn't come at a better time,” DeSmith added of his first ever playoff win. “I was really disappointed with the result the other night; I thought the team played great the other night and, you know, didn't get the result they deserved. So it means a lot.”
The last two games have been pretty different: the Canucks dominating one, the Preds dominating the other. The Canucks bent but didn’t break, which shows how resolute they’ve become, and how far they’ve made it from the fragile team that couldn’t hold a lead to save its life the past few years. And a 5 on 3 in the third? The Canucks of yore would have wilted, but not these guys.
“[The penalty killers] are doing an unbelievable job for us,” Miller said. “They take so much pride in that area of the rink. It's nice to see after the last couple of years (when)... our penalty kill kind of failed and let us down sometimes. In years prior, when you get that power play (for Nashville) in the third, you know they're scoring. It was a terrible feeling. But I'm super happy for them and we're going to need them moving forward.”
After recording just 12 shots on goal – Miller had half of them! – the Canucks are going to need all hands on deck. They were badly outplayed along the walls, they had a really hard time dealing with Nashville’s aggressive forecheck, and were outhit 32 to 23. They played a great road game, but that isn’t really a recipe for success in the playoffs in another barn. The Canucks have a practice scheduled today (maybe missing a few places who might be nursing some bumps and bruises), so we’ll see how the team is able to adjust to escape the up-ice pressure a bit better.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»