Clarksville, Tn– The Nashville Predators keep using this same formula while winning on the road. Get behind early, then make a fantastic comeback to win the game, 4-3.
The Predators played that script to perfection tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, but tonight their secret weapon was Mike Fisher. Fisher made his return to the lineup after signing a 1 million dollar contract to return to the team, after briefly retiring after last season.
His impact was felt throughout, as he scored the first goal of the night for Nashville.
Bo Horvat would get the Canucks on the board first at 5:55 of the first period, beating Nashville goalie Juuse Saros on a tip-in to give the Canucks the early 1-0 lead.
Brandon Sutter would give Vancouver the 2-0 lead at 15:04 of the second period with a backhand shot that slipped past Nashville starting goalie, Juuse Saros.
Mike Fisher would then make his presence known at 17:26 of the second period when he tapped a goal into the corner of the net to put the Predators on the board, and suddenly it was 2-1, Vancouver leading.
Kevin Fiala would get into the scoring column at 10:02 of the third period on a wrist shot to the back of the net and suddenly the game was tied, 2-2.
With several opportunities lost by the Preds in the third period as Jacob Markstrom would be solid in net for Vancouver.
Then at 11:54 of the final frame, Daniel Sedin would take advantage of the Canucks power play and shoot a wrist shot past Saros for the 3-2 lead for the home team.
But the “never say die” Predators weren’t finished yet. With time ticking away and Ryan Johansen kicked out of the game for a game misconduct, Ryan Ellis took matters into his own hands. Ellis took a nasty slap shot from the point that beat Markstrom and suddenly the game was tied again, 3-3.
At the end of regulation, the game was tied and the teams headed to overtime. At least the Predators would salvage a point, even after having several of their star players scratched for the game. Scott Hartnell, Roman Josi, Craig Smith among those who were scratched for “maintenance.”
I took less than a minute for the Predators to prove that they’re one of the elite teams in the NHL and have no fear of trailing in a game, as Calle Jarnkrok would score the game winner just 43 seconds into overtime and the Predators would secure the two points.
It was an emotional night for the Nashville Predators as their former captain from last years Western Conference Championship team, Mike Fisher, made his return to the lineup scoring the Preds first goal of the game. He was dominant in the face off circle and just his presence in the lineup gave the rest of the team energy on this back to back schedule.
The Predators will finish this road trip, having conquered Canada, and play a matinee on Sunday against the red hot Colorado Avalanche.
With tonight’s win, the Predators lead the central division of the Western Conference with 91 points and lead the Winnipeg Jets with 85.
Puck drops at 2:00pm central time on Sunday.
