Chris Higgins scored on a strange play in the second period and goaltender Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators 1-0 Thursday night to open the NHL Western Conference semifinal series.
The Canucks showed no signs of being tired after just one day of rest following an emotional seven-game opening round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Vancouver outworked the Predators, demonstrated more speed with the puck, and peppered Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne with 30 shots.
The big Finnish goalie was the only reason the score wasn't lopsided. The shots were 16-11 after 40 minutes.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Saturday at Rogers Arena (CBC, 9 p.m. ET).
The shutout was the second of the playoffs for Luongo, who blanked Chicago 2-0 in the first game of the opening round.
Both Luongo and Rinne are finalists for the Vezina Trophy, given to the league's best goaltender.
Higgins scored at 12:14 of the second period. About the last person in the arena to realize he had scored was the referee behind the net.
Higgins stepped into a shot that a sprawling Rinne got a piece of. The puck deflected up, hit just under the bar in the net, then fell back out on the ice.
The red light game on, the horn sounded in the building, and the Canucks began to celebrate. But referee Marc Joanette waved the goal off. Play continued for several seconds before the whistle blew.
The referees huddled while television replays showed the puck clearly in the net. Finally the officials signalled a goal.
The game lacked the energy and flow of the Canucks' thrilling 2-1 overtime victory against Chicago in Tuesday's Game 7 of the conference quarter-finals series.
Vancouver took control early. The Canucks controlled the play, making crisp passes and easily moving the puck around in the Nashville zone.
Rinne managed to keep the game close. In the first period he got a blocker on Henrik Sedin drive. Later, he stopped a Keith Ballard shot, then denied the Canuck defenceman again on the rebound.
In the second, Rinne was able to glove defenceman Kevin Bieksa's tip of a Sedin shot.
Luongo wasn't as busy but was there when needed. He got a left pad on a Sergei Kostitsyn shot and stopped Mike Fisher on a short-handed breakaway. That brought chants of "Luuu, Luuu" from the sellout crowd of 18,860 at Rogers Arena.
There were some heavy hits handed out. Bieksa welcomed Fisher to the series with a thundering hit that left the Nashville centre flat on the ice. Ballard sent Jordin Tootoo flying with a hip check, but was given a penalty for clipping on the play.
One fan in the crowd waved a cardboard cutout of country star Carrie Underwood wearing a Canuck jersey. Underwood, a former American Idol winner, is married to Fisher.
The Canucks rode an emotional roller-coaster in defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Vancouver took a 3-0 lead in the series, then watched the Blackhawks battle back to force Game 7.
The Predators have been resting since eliminating the Anaheim Ducks in six games Sunday. It's the first time in the team's 13-year history that Nashville has advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Notes: Mats Sundin, a former Canuck and long-time Toronto Maple Leaf, attended the game. ...The Canucks and Predators have never met in the playoffs before. ...Alex Burrows became the second player in franchise history to score two or more series-winning goals in overtime. He scored the winner against Chicago on Tuesday and against St. Louis on April 21, 2009.
