Phoenix had a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes, but they were absolutely overwhelmed in the third period. The Predators managed to tie the game with just 4:42 minutes to spare. Still, as they were able to do several times against Chicago in the first round, the Coyotes came through in overtime to earn a 4-3 victory and take a 1-0 series lead.
Here’s a few interesting points:
- After going scoreless in the opening round, Phoenix’s Radim Vrbata and Nashville’s Brandon Yip each found the back of the net in the first period.
- Phoenix had a league-leading 94.7 penalty killing percentage in the first round and Nashville had a poor 9.1% power-play success rate. Despite that, the Predators got a critical late goal with the man advantage.
- Six of the Coyotes’ seven playoff games have gone to overtime.
- Nashville out shot Phoenix 16-1 in the third period and 42-24 overall.