Associated Press
The NHL playoff roundup …
VANCOUVER, British Columbia ó Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots and made Chris Higgins’ second-period goal stand up in the Vancouver Canucks’ 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday night.
It was Luongo’s second shutout of these playoffs and the third of his NHL postseason career. He made nine saves in the third period, including a short-handed breakaway by Mike Fisher 5:20 in, for the Canucks, who will host Game 2 on Saturday.
Pekka Rinne had several spectacular stops among his 29 saves to keep the Predators in the game despite his club being outshot 30-20 and outplayed for long stretches.
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks got right back into action just two days after beating archrival Chicago in overtime of Game 7 of a series in which Vancouver had held a 3-0 lead.
But it was the fifth-seeded Predators who were a bit road-weary after arriving in Vancouver on Wednesday night. Nashville, off since eliminating Anaheim in Game 6 on Sunday, came out flat in its first second-round game in team history.
Vancouver outshot Nashville 16-5 in the opening period, but couldn’t beat Rinne.