For more than 58 minutes on Friday, the 17,000 fans that made their way to Rogers Arena for the Vancouver Canucks’ sold-out Game 6 viewing party against the Nashville Predators did their best to keep their nerves at bay and stay involved in a low-event game.
They waved their towels on cue. They sang along to ‘O Canada.’ And they dutifully booed every close-up on the Jumbotron of anyone associated with the Predators — whether that was a player like former Canuck Anthony Beauvillier, GM Barry Trotz up in his suite at Bridgestone Arena, or even Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman — the wife of country star Keith Urban who was doing pump-up duties for the other side.
For the first 40 minutes, the Vancouver fans’ best chance to cheer was for the sharp work of the Canucks’ penalty kill as it erased a high-sticking double minor to Brock Boeser midway through the second period.
During that kill, Elias Pettersson broke in on Juuse Saros for a shorthanded chance that was arguably his best scoring opportunity of the series — and a long time coming for an elite offensive talent who has come more and more under the microscope as the series went along.
After struggling to get pucks through to Saros for the first five games of the series, the Canucks hit a series-high 29 shots in Game 6. They kept the misses to a minimum, although Nashville logged another 24 blocks. And it was shot No. 29 that finally found the back of the net.
Pettersson won an offensive-zone faceoff and a board battle, then advanced the puck around the end boards to Boeser, who swung it out to Pius Suter in the slot.
THE CANUCKS HAVE DONE IT!
PIUS SUTER SCORES A POTENTIAL SERIES CLINCHING GOAL WITH 1:39 TO PLAY.
via @BR_OpenIce
pic.twitter.com/OJyn3PRjVk— BarDown (@BarDown) May 4, 2024
Though he had been foiled on four chances earlier in the game, Suter made no mistake with 1:39 left in the third period, igniting the celebration back home.
Feelin' the love from back home at the @Rogers Away Viewing Party! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/QdFtXd6o1d
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) May 4, 2024
The final 99 seconds of action were filled with nervous tension in the arena — especially after Elias Lindholm was sent to the penalty box for a cross-check on Gustav Nyquist with 34 seconds remaining.
That led to a frantic finish. But the sight of Tyler Myers diving across the crease to block a shot from Nyquist after rookie goalie Arturs Silovs made saves on Jason Zucker and Colton Sissons perfectly encapsulated the effort that the Canucks needed to close out their series with a 1-0 win and advance to the second round for the first time since 2020 — and the first time with the full involvement of their fans since Alex Burrows slayed the dragon against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011.
Tyler Myers with the HUGE block to help the @Canucks punch their ticket to the Second Round of the #StanleyCup Playoffs! 💪 pic.twitter.com/wE3zbpCzeq
— NHL (@NHL) May 4, 2024
On the same day that Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the first time, he got a full-team commitment from his group and a star turn from 23-year-old Silovs. The third-string stopper, who was pressed into duty in Game 4 after injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith, needed to be perfect on Friday. And he was.
Soon, the Edmonton Oilers await — likely with a Tuesday start to Round 2 at Rogers Arena. And just like with Nashville, the Canucks will be facing a very different opponent than the one that they swept 4-0 and outscored 21-7 in the regular season.
In a pressure-packed situation, Vancouver was loose heading into Game 6. J.T. Miller pranked Silovs by wearing his dress shirt on the ice to start practice on Thursday, and Tocchet said the group went for a team dinner together on Thursday night.
So JT Miller took to the ice wearing Artur Silov’s dress shirt. It’s a peach/salmon paisley type of thing. Silovs was a little surprised to see it being used as a practice jersey. #canucks pic.twitter.com/W7vowBFa10
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) May 2, 2024
Relationships are forged in playoffs — between teammates and between players and their fans.
The long-awaited journey in Vancouver will now continue at least a little longer.
Related: Edmonton Oilers Become First Canadian Team to Advance in 2024 NHL Playoffs
Related: Meet Arturs Silovs, the Canucks’ International Man of Mystery
Related: NHL Announces 2024 Jack Adams Award Finalists
News Summary:
- Pius Suter and Arturs Silovs Ignited the Party for Canucks Fans Back Home – Oilers Come Next
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.