Associated Press…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Ryan Kesler broke a tie with a power-play goal at 7:28 of the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-1 lead in their Western semifinal series.
Christian Ehrhoff scored a power-play goal and had two assists, Kesler also had two assists, and Alexander Edler had a goal. Henrik Sedin notched his first points in the series with two assists and an empty-net goal with 20.6 seconds left.
The Canucks, the Presidents’ Trophy winners for the NHL’s best regular-season record, can close out the series Saturday night.
Joel Ward and Cody Franson each had a goal and an assist for Nashville. The Predators lost consecutive games for the first time this postseason.
Kesler scored his second straight winner with a power-play goal off a penalty he drew.