Photo - Nashville Predators
P.K. Subban scored twice and the Nashville Predators blasted the Vancouver Canucks by a 7-1 final on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena. The victory gives the Preds points in five consecutive games and 14 wins in their last 18 tries. It was the perfect start to a three-game Western Canadian swing, as Nashville started strong and finished even stronger to complete one of their best efforts of the season, something that was built over the past three days with some time away from game action.
It took Subban less than two minutes to get his first of the night to go, a floating shot that eluded goaltender Anders Nilsson for a 1-0 advantage. Viktor Arvidsson gave the Preds a two-goal lead when he finished off a shorthanded, 2-on-0 break by depositing Ryan Johansen’s feed into the cage. It appeared the Canucks had cut the lead in half in the last minute of the opening frame, but Nashville successfully challenged the play for offside to keep Vancouver off the board.
As the second stanza opened, it was Subban again, this time converting on a blast from center ice that fooled Nilsson, and right after the Canucks got on the board, Filip Forsberg’s pass deflected off of a Vancouver defender and over the line for a power-play tally and a 4-1 Nashville lead after 40 minutes.
A team that has had their share of third-period mishaps this season, including against these same Canucks on Nov. 30 in Nashville, the Predators weren’t about to let their opponent back into the contest.
(Courtesy Nashville Predators)
