NASHVILLE – Another third-period deficit was no problem for the high-scoring Vancouver Canucks.
Jannik Hansen scored the go-ahead goal with just under six minutes left in the third period to lead the Canucks to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Vancouver leads the NHL with nine victories this season when they trail after two period. They have scored 82 third-period goals this season, second only to Washington.
“We were down by a goal going into the third, and again, we found a way to get it done,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.
Mikael Samuelsson, Alexander Edler and Henrik Sedin also scored for Vancouver, which has won three of its last four. The Canucks are 7-5-0 so far on their franchise-high 14-game road trip.
With the game tied at two, Predators J.P. Dumont and Denis Grebeshkov collided in the neutral zone, and Kyle Wellwood saw an opening and found Hansen with a stretch pass.
“They seemed to fall on each other and there was a pileup,” Wellwood said. “It was a pretty easy pass. The first thing I noticed was the two guys on the ice at that point, both of my wingers were looking for a breakaway.”
Hansen had a breakaway on Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, who stopped the initial shot, but didn’t see the rebound lying by his right foot, and Hansen had an easy tap-in for his seventh goal.
“Wellwood made a nice cross-ice pass over their last guy, and I got a great break from the blue-line,” Hansen said. “I tried to put it five-hole, but didn’t quite succeed, but luckily I got the rebound.”
Jason Arnott and Jordin Tootoo had goals for the Predators, who have dropped back-to-back games after winning their previous three.
Vancouver trailed 2-1 before Samulesson tied it midway through the third. Hansen put the Canucks ahead with 5:42 left, and Sedin sealed it with an empty-net goal with four seconds remaining.
Samuelsson had tied it just over four minutes earlier when his unscreened slapshot from the right half boards deflected off Rinne’s arm and into the goal at 9:59. It was Samuelsson’s career-high 24th goal, and he has scored in three consecutive games, and in five of his last six.
“It went off my arm and went in,” Rinne said. “It was a weak goal.”
Edler scored the game’s first goal at 11:10 of the opening period. From the right corner, Ryan Kesler found Edler all alone in the slot, and his wrist shot beat Rinne on the stick side. The goal was Edler’s first since Dec. 2, a span of 31 games.
The Predators lost for just the third time this season when leading after two periods.
“I thought we were pretty solid for the most part,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “They’re going to get a few chances because they are a good team. We were in scramble mode after their second goal. With the third goal, you have to play with more risk to get it back.”
Arnott tied it at one on a power-play goal at 13:44. The Nashville captain has three goals in Nashville’s four games since the Olympic break. He has scored 14 of his 17 goals at home.
Tootoo gave the Predators a 2-1 lead with 12:35 left in the second period. He carried the puck into the Vancouver zone on the left side. His initial shot from the left faceoff dot was stopped by Roberto Luongo, but Tootoo was able to collect the rebound and flip the puck over Luongo’s right shoulder and into the net for his sixth goal.
NOTES: Nashville D Shea Weber missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury sustained Friday night in Detroit. … The Predators have scored at least one power-play goal in nine of their last 10 games. … Kesler extended his career-best point scoring streak to nine games. … The game concluded the regular-season series between the teams, with each team winning two of the four contests.
