Matt Duchene scored the only goal in a shootout as the host Nashville Predators bounced back from allowing two late goals to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Tuesday.
Cole Smith, Philip Tomasino, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund scored in regulation and Juuso Parssinen had two assists for Nashville, which won for the second time in three games. Juuse Saros made 35 saves through regulation and overtime before making two more saves in the shootout.
The win comes two days after the Predators rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit before taking a disappointing 4-3 loss to Minnesota Wild when Ryan Hartman scored with 21 seconds remaining.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored twice and Sheldon Dries and Conor Garland had one goal apiece for Vancouver, which fell to 4-5-2 under new coach Rick Tocchet. Goaltender Collin Delia made 22 saves in regulation and OT, and he stopped two of Nashville’s three shootout attempts.
The Canucks scored goals just 51 seconds apart late in the third period to tie it 4-4. Garland notched his 12th of the season at 18:53, and Kuzmenko scored with just 16 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Smith opened the scoring just under five minutes into the game, jamming home a rebound for his third goal of the season.
Two of the Predators’ talented youngsters struck for the second goal just under eight minutes into the middle frame. Tomasino, 21, worked a give-and-go perfectly with rookie Juuso Parssinen, 22, and scored to make it 2-0.
Kuzmenko made it 2-1 on a breakaway, snapping a shot high over Saros’ glove at 12:47 of the second.
A pair of goals in the final minute of the second brought the Nashville fans out of their seats.
Vancouver’s Brock Boeser took a shot from the point that sneaked through Saros’ legs and hit the post. Dries pounced in and tucked the puck in to tie the score at 2-2 with just 22 seconds left in the second.
Niederreiter scored just 12 seconds later during a goalmouth scramble to restore the Predators’ lead.
Granlund scored at 7:44 of the third on a backhand from in close to make it 4-2.
–Field Level Media
