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Canucks pull off unbelievable comeback OT win in Nashville

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Apr 29 2024, 12:25 am
Canucks pull off unbelievable comeback OT win in Nashville
Steve Roberts/USA TODAY Sports


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The odds were stacked against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4.

Despite starting their third-string goaltender, despite the fact that they trailed 3-1 late in the third period, the Canucks were able to defeat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime.

Brock Boeser was brilliant, leading the way for the Canucks with a hat trick. His third goal tied the game with six seconds remaining.

Then, barely a minute into overtime, Elias Lindholm buried the winning goal past Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.

“When you score an overtime winner, it’s always a good feeling,” Lindholm told Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy post-game.

He was also complimentary of the 23-year-old Silovs, who was solid his first career postseason start.

“Coming in there, it’s tough building to play in,” Lindholm said. “We didn’t play our best game, but he made some big saves for us.”

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet echoed Lindholm’s comments about the Canucks play.

“We’ve got some work to do,” Tocchet said following the win.

“Generally, the last couple of games, they’ve been a little bit better in battles. They’re skating and moving their feet. I find that we’re not moving our feet and we’re losing some battles.”

“We’ve gotta get some guys in the fight a little bit.”

Although it wasn’t pretty, the Canucks now have a 3-1 series lead and can clinch the series back in Vancouver at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night at 7 pm PT.

Boeser’s big night

The playoffs are where heroes are born.

Perhaps the man that some refer to as Prince Charming was made for hero role.

Boeser opening the scoring for Vancouver on the team’s first shot of the game, wiring a shot past Saros after yet another beautiful pass from J.T. Miller.

For a while, that looked like it might be the only goal the Canucks would score.

The Canucks had been outshot 30-16 late in the third period. Then, Boeser began to embody the hero role.

With Silovs at the Canucks bench, Boeser buried his second of the game home with 2:49 remaining, cutting Nashville’s lead down to one.

Then, after a missed attempt at the side of the goal, Boeser recovered to score his third goal of the game, shocking everyone at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with six seconds remaining.

“I thought I lost the game for a quick second,” Boeser said candidly after the game.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with a clutch second effort on his hat trick goal. He became the first Canucks player to register a hat trick in the playoffs since Trevor Linden in 1996.

“You can’t give up until the final horn,” said Boeser. “We didn’t give up there and we continued to battle back, and we felt that momentum shift.”

Predators centre Colton Sissons will be kicking himself after the game. He had a chance to seal the victory for Nashville with the net empty while the score was 3-2, however his backhand shot towards the goal bounced off of the post.

Boeser’s game-tying goal followed after Sissons miss, and Lindholm scored on the first shot for either team in overtime.

Silovs stands tall for Canucks

Silovs has been in big moments before.

Despite suiting up for just nine career NHL starts prior to tonight, the moment didn’t seem  too big for him in this one.

Silovs had to be sharp early, as the Predators tested him with four shots in the opening minutes.

The Latvian netminder also made a massive stop off Predators forward Michael McCarron, who was rushing down the left wing, late in the game. The timing was crucial, as the Canucks were still down 3-1.

Boeser scored less than a minute later to bring the Canucks within one, and the rest was history.

Silovs’s celebration after Lindholm’s overtime winner was gold.

 

The Canucks have now won three games in this series with three different goaltenders, as all of Thatcher Demko, Casey DeSmith, and Silovs have picked up wins. That’s the first time three Canucks goaltenders have picked up wins in a series since Alex Auld, Dan Cloutier, and Johan Hedberg all did so back in 2004.

We know Demko won’t start on Tuesday in Game 5, but the Canucks have to feel confident in both DeSmith and Silovs after they stopped 58 of 62 shots combined against the Predators, on the road, noless.

If the Canucks do win on Tuesday, it would be the first time the Canucks will have clinched a series on home ice since Kevin Bieksa’s stanchion goal propelled the Canucks past the San Jose Sharks in the 2011 Western Conference Final.

 

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