Hronek ties it late, Canucks rally for shootout win against Predators

VANCOUVER -- Filip Hronek scored the game-tying goal with 1:01 remaining in the third period for the Vancouver Canucks, who rallied for a 4-3 shootout win against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

Hronek tied it 3-3 when he used Drew O'Connor as a screen and beat Juuse Saros on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle with Nikita Tolopilo pulled for the extra attacker.

“We needed this one,” Hronek said. “We entered the game with a really good effort and then somehow we got scored on. I'm really happy that we didn't give up and battled back.”

Marco Rossi had a goal and two assists, and Brock Boeser and Hronek each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks (20-37-8), who are 2-1-1 in their past four games. Tolopilo made 16 saves.

“It's a boost of the confidence, for sure,” Hronek said. “It's never fun to keep losing so it's really good that we get that taste of winning. Hopefully we can build on it.” 

Jake DeBrusk scored in the shootout, and Tolopilo stopped Ryan O'Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos to clinch the win. 

"A lot of respect to the group. We're down 3-1, we didn't quit," Rossi said. "We still had a lot of belief in this group. The win feels really good.”

Tyson Jost scored twice for his first multigoal game in almost five years for the Predators (29-27-9), who are 2-3-2 in their past seven games. Saros made 24 saves.

“Grateful to get a point. Probably didn't deserve one,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “They were the better team from the puck drop, and it's one of those nights for a group that we're kind of hard to figure out. Obviously, it hurts blowing a two-goal lead late in the game, but we didn't really deserve to be in the game. … We didn't come to play. We had a lot of passengers. Young guys brought energy, and rest of the guys were passengers.” 

Boeser gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 8:40 of the first period. Hronek's point shot was tipped by Rossi in the slot and caught a piece of Boeser's stick at the net front before going in past Saros.

Saros kept it a one-goal deficit with breakaway saves on O’Connor at 16:08 and Linus Karlsson at 15:39, as well as Boeser from the slot on a 3-on-2 at 18:07. 

Jost tied it 1-1 at 18:28, chipping the rebound of Justin Barron's backhand over a sprawling Tolopilo from in tight.

“That first might have been our best first period of the year. Their goalie was playing really good, and we ended up on the wrong side of it,” Vancouver coach Adam Foote said. “But we stayed with it and believed and they kept it together. It was nice to see.”​

Jost put Nashville up 2-1 with his second goal at 5:20 of the second period. Roman Josi took a slap shot from the point, and the puck bounced off the glass behind the net and rolled in front, where Jost lifted it over Tolopilo's right shoulder.

Jost had previously scored at least twice in a game five times in his career, most recently on May 13, 2021, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. He has three goals in his past two games after scoring three in his previous 50 games.

“I was always trying to tell myself that it's going to come,” Jost said. “I was getting a lot of chances, and I loved how I was playing, even though maybe I wasn't finding the back of the net, and I think that's something I learned as my career has went on here, that the offense is coming, you still got to find ways to contribute, and you got to just trust that you're getting those looks and trust the process. So, it's definitely nice to be rewarded. I want to keep building on that, but it's tough to reflect on just because this one stings a lot.” 

Matthew Wood made it 3-1 at 14:06. He threw the puck toward the crease from the goal line to the right of the net and it deflected in off Canucks forward Liam Ohgren's skate.

Rossi brought Vancouver to within 3-2 at 15:55, scoring on the rebound of Ohgren's shot from in front.

“In the locker room after second, I think we were just playing such a solid game,” Boeser said. “We thought we had a lot of looks, and we thought we were kind of controlling the play, so I think everyone kind of felt that and had that confidence, and we carried it into the third.

“It just shows that you can't quit. You got you got to play till the final buzzer, and you're never out of it.” 

NOTES: It was just the fifth time in team history that the Canucks won despite a multigoal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation. ... Vancouver forward Evander Kane returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury. He had two shots on goal in 17:44 of ice time. ... Wood, who was playing his first NHL game near his hometown of Nanaimo, British Columbia, extended his career-high point streak to four games (four goals, one assist).