Viktor Arvidsson scored the lone goal for the Predators on Wednesday afternoon, and the Arizona Coyotes earned a 4-1 win in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in their Stanley Cup Qualifier with Nashville.
The result means Friday’s Game 4 is a must-win for the Preds in the best-of-five scenario.
In the postseason, all that matters is the result. Predators Head Coach John Hynes has preached throughout the series that the best-of-five set is just that – an up-and-down, back-and-forth battle. That’s what makes Wednesday’s score tough to accept.
The Predators did just about everything but find the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes, as Arizona netminder Darcy Kuemper stopped all 19 Nashville shots he faced. Instead, the Coyotes scored on their first shot of the game – a redirection from Christian Dvorak – and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
“It’s frustrating right now,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said of the result. “Especially in the first [period], I thought we played really well. We created a lot of chances, had a lot of shots, a lot of zone time; obviously, we couldn’t get a goal, but I think it was a really good first period for us… But looking back, in the first, I wish we got some goals.”
Nashville remained on the attack despite the setback. Finally, in the second period, Ryan Johansen stole the puck from two Coyotes in the neutral zone and started an odd-man rush. Filip Forsberg then slipped a pass over to Arvidsson, who tallied his second goal on a slap shot in as many days to even the score at 1-1.
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