Predators 2, Canucks 1 (2OT)
Defenseman Ryan Suter tied the game with 67 seconds remaining in the third period and Matt Halischuk scored at 14:51 of double overtime as the fifth-seeded Nashville Predators recorded a 2-1 road victory over the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series Saturday.
Suter added an assist and Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for the Predators, who host Game 3 on Tuesday.
With Nashville on the verge of being shut out a second straight time, Suter unleashed a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off a defender and went wide. Suter got to the loose puck behind the net and fired it into the crease, where it caromed off Roberto Luongo's left skate and across the goal line for Nashville's first goal of the series and a 1-1 tie.
Rinne made a number of brilliant saves in the first overtime and Halischuk put a shot from the right faceoff circle over a sliding defender and into the top right corner of the net, giving the Predators a split of the first two games of the series.
Alex Burrows scored and Luongo stopped 44 shots for the Canucks, who registered just 15 shots in regulation.
After a dismal performance in the series opener, Nashville came out strong in the first period of Game 2 as it outshot Vancouver 12-6. The contest was scoreless at intermission, however, and the Canucks jumped ahead two minutes into the second.
With defenseman Christian Ehrhoff serving a hooking penalty, Burrows carried the puck down the right wing and attempted a backhand pass to Ryan Kesler from the bottom of the faceoff circle. The puck hit a defender's skate and came back to Burrows, who deposited it into the net for his fourth goal in as many games.