Vancouver Canucks v Nashville Predators Game 3

Another Crowd full of gold at the Bridgestone arena as Nashville looked to level this series at 2-2.

Barry Trotz will have been happy with his team's start to this game as Nashville exerted pressure on the Vancouver end from the start, getting the puck towards the net and creating a couple of good scoring chances. They were winning all the face offs and causing Vancouver to ice the puck and take long shifts.

However, Klein got called for 2 minutes after cross checking Higgins in front of the net and Vancouver went on the powerplay to try and get themselves into the game at 4.01 Nashville killed it off with a couple of important shot blocks and the game stayed even.

Vancouver were now in the game but neither team were getting many shots on goal. Through the first 10 minutes Vancouver had taken 3 and Nashville just the 1, most of the attempts being blocked before getting on net.

Ehrhoff gave the Canucks the lead at 15.00 with what was quite a strange goal. He just threw the puck on goal with a soft wrist shot, Burrows stood infront of Rinne but clear of the crease by a distance and Rinnejust didn't pick it up. The netminder spun and made out he was hit by the forward but Burrows just seemed to have good position in front of the net.

Salo took a 2 minute delay of game penalty with 1.42 left on the 1st to give Nashville their chance to get a powerplay equaliser. They got this with 41.6 seconds left as Ward tipped a Franson shot from the point into the pads of Luongo then getting the rebound and jamming it home infront.

A scuffle at the buzzer infront of the Nashville net meant the 2nd period would start with 2 minutes of 4 on 4 as Bieksa and Weber served 2 minute penalties. Neither team could take advantage of the open ice though and the game returned to 5 on 5.

4.30 gone in the period and O'Brien took a high sticking call to give the Canucks a 2nd powerplay chance of the game but they failed to get anything going and it was a good kill by Nashville.

With just over 6 minutes gone Nashville should have taken the lead. A huge scramble infront of Luongo and as the netminder lost his goal stick he still managed to sprawl about in his crease to deny Hornqvist what looked like a tap in to the net.

It was the Canucks who took the lead though at 9.43 as Ehrhoff played the puck through a crowd from behind the net to Kesler, his stick broke but Edler fired it back through the crowd, low on net and it went straight through Rinne and in.

With 6.02 left in the period LaPierre went for a 2 minute rest for interference. Nashville did a nice job to keep the puck moving around in the offensive end looking to create a good scoring opportunity but didn't find a play. What they did get was a 5 on 3 chance when Rome took 2 minutes for slashing with 4.49 left. The Canucks killed off the 47 seconds being 2 men down and eventually the 5 on 4 as well and they retained their 2-1 lead going into the 3rd period.

It was a similar story to the previous games through 2 periods of this as Nashville had only taken 13 shots to Vancouver's 21 and they hadn't created many clear cut chances.

There was confusion over the Predators equaliser as Franson fired the puck from the point through the crowd and low through Luongo's legs. The puck stuck in the netting, which never moved and under the camera. It took everyone 10 seconds or so to realise where the puck had gone with a few Predators raising their arms thinking it had gone in before the goal siren was sounded and the spotlight used to signal that it was actually in.

Rinne then pulled off a magificent pad save straight after to stop Burrows infront of him from jamming the puck past his right leg.

The Canucks went on the powerplay at 6.21 as Suter took a holding penalty infront of his own net. Kesler got Vancouver back in front on it as he skated the puck in over the blue line himself, made a move backhand to forehand through 2 defencemen and wristed it stick side on Rinne.

Nashville still struggled to find any offence going forward and didn't create that chance to get themselves back into this game. With 20 seconds left Henrik Sedin got his 1st goal of the playoffs on the empty netter after winning a face off in his own zone, Kesler clearing it and Sedin picking it back up to skate to the blueline and put it in.

Only 21 shots for the Predators all game and now they have to go back to Vancouver to try and win to keep the series alive after losing both games on home ice.