Predators Must Shake Off the 'Rust' in Time for Game 2 vs. Canucks

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, every moment matters.

Just ask the Nashville Predators , who took just 12 seconds to unravel in a Game 1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Several moments contributed to Nashville's third-period collapse, but the play that led to Vancouver's go-ahead goal was particularly glaring. First, a screen in front of the net kept Juuse Saros from seeing Quinn Hughes' shot from the point that tied the game at 2-2. Then, a dozen seconds later, a misplay by Alexandre Carrier allowed Connor Garland to find Dakota Joshua in front of the net to put Vancouver up 3-2.

"(Carrier) got spun around a little bit," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said the following day, appearing to downplay the defensive gaffe. "We had a couple pucks go through us that ended up in the back of the net."

On the play, which happened immediately after the face-off, Carrier got caught between trying to support Jeremy Lauzon as he corralled the puck behind the Predators' net and attempting to block the pass from Garland to Joshua.

Despite dictating the pace for the majority of the game, the Predators were unable to regain their composure after Joshua's goal. The result, of course, saw Vancouver win the game to take a 1-0 series lead.

"It's disappointing," Brunette said after the game. "We haven't done that in a long time."

After the game, Brunette said the breakdown reminded him of the third-period problem that plagued the Predators in the first half of the season – a problem that the team had managed to turn into a strength down the stretch.

"Uncharacteristic for us from the last 40 games or so," Brunette said. "It was a little bit of a theme early in the year. Shift after a goal is so important."

Brunette was willing to chalk the unfortunate ending up to the fact that the Predators hadn't played a game in nearly a week prior to the start of the playoffs.

"We could be a little sharper," Brunette said. "A little bit of of the rust from not playing for a week took us a while to get going. We weren't as sharp as we usually are."

The Predators' response in Game 2 will help determine if "rust" is really to blame, or if they have reverted to old habits. Brunette, for his part, isn't concerned about the latter.

"This group has been resilient," Brunette said. "We've handled adversity all year. "To a man, we know we didn't play our best. But we've done a really good job of just moving straight ahead. Forget about it, rinse it, let's go back to work."

The puck drops at Rogers Arena for Game 2 between the Predators and Canucks Tuesday at 9 p.m. CT.