Canucks' Stunning NHL Playoff Comeback Against Predators Wasn't Just Entertaining, It Was Historic

If you weren’t watching the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators play Game 4 of their first-round playoff matchup last night, you didn’t use your Sunday evening wisely.

Sure, the NBA had a ton of playoff games on, and my Red Sox walked it off against the Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball. But at this time of year, playoff hockey has to take precedence over every other sporting event, even family commitments in some instances. 

And frankly, all of those games were BOR-ing compared to what happened on the ice in Nashville. 

The Predators and Canucks played an epic Game 4. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Late in the third period, the Predators had a 3-1 lead. For most of the game, the Canucks looked like America’s economy - lethargic and showing few, if any, signs of life. 

Through roughly 58 minutes of regulation, Vancouver had only put 16 shots on Juuse Saaros and had no answers for Nashville’s defense. With 2:49 left in the third, things looked bleak.

But hey, it’s never too late to start a comeback, right?

With just over three minutes left, Vancouver pulled goalie Arturs Silovs for an extra attacker, and shortly thereafter, Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game to make it 3-2.

Not an ideal situation if you're the Predators, but still manageable. The Canucks would have to pull Silovs again, and Nashville would have another shot to score an empty-net goal and ice the game - pun intended.

Center Colton Sissons had that chance with under two minutes left. Not 30 feet from a yawning net, Sissons fired a backhander toward the goal.

Somehow, it hit the far post and didn’t go in. Vancouver dodged a massive bullet.

Despite the really unfortunate result of that shot, Nashville still had a chance! Just kill off the remaining minute or so and even the series at two games apiece. Surely, a stalwart defensive team with an all-world goaltender could do that.

Right?

Wrong.

With eight seconds - just eight seconds! - left, Boeser scored another goal to complete a hat-trick and the wildest regulation sequence of these playoffs.

The crowd was stunned. You could hear a pin drop in Bridgestone Arena. Nashville went from putting this game away with a minute left to letting a two-goal lead slip through their fingers. Talk about playoff insanity.

At this point, Nashville couldn’t do anything to stop the inevitable, and Vancouver mercifully put them out of their emotional letdown just a minute into overtime. Elias Lindholm scored right in front of the goal to win the game for the Canucks 4-3.

The win wasn’t just a colossal momentum shift in the series, the win had historical significance. In NHL playoff history, only seven teams have begun a comeback win with less time on the clock than Vancouver did on Sunday.

This, folks, is reason number 35,708 why playoff hockey trumps every sporting event at this time of year. Even when things look bleak, the impossible can still happen.

Legendary.

Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports